Voice and video/image conferencing services over the IP network with asynchronous transmission of audio and video/images integrating loosely coupled devices in the home network

• US 6,831,899 B1
• Filed: 08/18/2000
• Issued: 12/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Roy, Radhika R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong, Frank
• Assistant Examiner(s): MOORE JR, MICHAEL J
• Application Number:
  US09/640,681
• Time in Patent Office: 1,579 Days
• Field of Search: 370/259, 370/260, 370/261, 370/262, 370/263, 370/395.21, 370/395.41, 370/351, 370/352, 370/401, 370/389, 370/347, 370/442, 370/321, 370/337, 370/264, 370/265, 370/266, 370/267, 370/268, 370/269, 370/419, 370/420, 370/463, 379/202.01, 379/203.01, 379/204.01, 379/205.01, 348/14.1, 348/14.08
• US Class Current: 370/260
• 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 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2838 Distribution of signals within a home automation network, e.g. involving splitting/multiplexing signals to/from different paths adaptations of television systems for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution H04N7/106; hybrid transport H04L12/6418; home network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2854 Wide area networks, e.g. public data networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and audio-video conferencing system for efficiently utilizing a Home Network system with a controller and having home audio and video devices coupled by IEEE 1394 standard compliant connections in one of: point-to-point and multipoint arrangement. The method includes the steps of: issuing, by a Residential Gateway, an IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots; handling, by the controller, where home device/devices fail to be sending signaling/data in any asynchronous time slots successfully, traffic of synchronous home devices until the traffic is complete and returning to having the Residential Gateway issue an IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots; handling, by the controller, where a home device is sending signaling/data in an asynchronous time slot and where audio-video conferencing fails to be requested, the traffic of the asynchronous home device/devices until the traffic is complete and returning to having the Residential Gateway issue an IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots; and allocating, by the controller, an asynchronous channel and home devices for, registering details of, and setting up an audio-video conferencing session, where a home device is sending signaling/data in an asynchronous time slot and where audio-video conferencing has been requested.

Claims

1. A method for efficient audio-video conferencing utilizing a Home Network system with a controller and having home audio and video devices coupled by IEEE 1394 standard compliant connections in one of:

point-to-point and multipoint arrangement, comprising the steps of;

issuing, by a Residential Gateway, an IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots;

determining, by the controller, whether a home device is sending signaling/data in an asynchronous time slot successfully;

where signaling/data fails to be sent, sending, by the controller, traffic of synchronous devices to indicated destinations;

determining, by the controller, whether handling of traffic is complete;

where handling of traffic is incomplete, returning, by the controller, to handling the traffic of synchronous devices to indicated destinations;

where handling of traffic is complete, returning, by the controller, to issuing, by the Residential Gateway, the IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots;

where the home device is sending signaling/data in the asynchronous time slot/slots, determining, by the controller, whether there is a request for audio-video conferencing;

if audio-video conferencing fails to be requested, sending, by the controller, traffic of asynchronous devices to indicated destinations;

determining, by the controller, whether traffic handling is complete;

where handling of traffic is incomplete, returning, by the controller, issuing, by the Residential Gateway, the IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots;

where a request for audio-video conferencing is made, allocating, by the controller, an asynchronous channel to a Home Network device user and setting up an audio-video conferencing session/call with the Home Network device user to determine which device is to be used for incoming and outgoing bit streams/channels of each medium in accordance with a predetermined scheme;

registering, by the controller, details of the audio-video conferencing session/call to a network services controller by the Residential Gateway; and

setting up, by the controller, the audio-video conferencing session/call.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein setting up, by the controller, the audio-video conferencing session includes the steps of:

consulting, by the controller, profiles of a calling party and called party/parties in a profile database;

sending a reply back to the Residential Gateway;

sending, by the Residential Gateway, the reply to the calling party indicating whether the session/call may be made or not depending on requirements set by the calling party and by the called party/parties registered in the profile database;

if a call request is confirmed by the controller, sending, by the calling party, a setup message to the controller;

upon receiving the setup message, contacting, by the controller, the called party/parties, and where the call/session is multipoint, contacting, by the controller, a multipoint controller;

if preferred home devices in the Home Network of the called party/parties for audio and video conferencing is/are unknown from the profile database, setting up, by the controller, a negotiation with respective Residential Gateways of the called party/parties to obtain addresses of home devices;

using, by the controller, addresses of the home devices of the called parties to set up the session/call;

sending confirmation by the called party/parties with a connect message;

sending, by the controller, a call confirmation message back to the calling party;

setting up, by the controller, a request for a media channel connection based on an optimum path.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the requirements include performance parameters.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein a performance parameter is bandwidth.

5. A method for efficient audio-video conferencing utilizing a Home Network system coupled to a Residential Gateway that is coupled to an access/wide-area network that has a controller and the Home Network System has home audio devices and home video devices coupled by IEEE 1394 standard compliant connections in one of:

point-to-point and multipoint arrangement, comprising the steps of;

issuing, by the Residential Gateway, an IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots;

handling, by the controller, where home device/devices fail to be sending signaling/data in an asynchronous time slot/slots successfully, traffic of synchronous home devices until the traffic is complete and returning to issuing, by the Residential Gateway, the IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots;

handling, by the controller, where a home device/devices is/are sending signaling/data in an asynchronous time slot/slots and where audio-video conferencing fails to be requested, the traffic of the home device/devices until the traffic is complete and returning to issuing, by the Residential Gateway, the-IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots; and

allocating, by the controller, an asynchronous channel and home devices for, registering details of, and setting up an audio-video conferencing session/call, where the home device is sending signaling/data in the asynchronous time slot/slots and where audio-video conferencing has been requested.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein setting up, by the controller, the audio-video conferencing session includes the steps of:

consulting, by the controller, profiles of a calling party and called party/parties in a profile database;

sending a reply back to the Residential Gateway;

sending, by the Residential Gateway, the reply to the calling party indicating whether the session/call may be made depending on requirements set by the calling party and by the called party/parties registered in the profile database;

if a call request is confirmed by the controller, sending, by the calling party, a setup message to the controller;

upon receiving the setup message, contacting, by the controller, the called party/parties, and where session/call is multipoint, contacting, by the controller, a multipoint controller;

if preferred home devices in the Home-Network of the called party/parties for audio and video conferencing are unknown from the profile database, setting up, by the controller, a negotiation with respective Residential Gateways of the called party/parties to obtain addresses of home devices;

using, by the controller, addresses of the home devices of the called party/parties to set up the session/call;

sending confirmation by the called party/parties with a connect message; and

sending, by the controller, a call confirmation message back to the calling party; and

setting up, by the controller, a request for a media channel connection based on an optimum path.

7. An audio-video conferencing system for efficient audio-video conferencing utilizing a Home Network system coupled to a Residential Gateway that is coupled to an access/wide-area network that has a controller and the Home Network system having audio devices and video devices coupled by IEEE 1394 standard compliant connections in one of:

point-to-point and multipoint arrangement, comprising;

the Residential Gateway, coupled to the access/wide-area network and the Home Network system with home devices, for issuing an IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots;

the controller, coupled to the access/wide-area network, for;

determining whether a home device is sending signaling/data in asynchronous time slots successfully;

where signaling/data fails to be sent, sending, by the controller, traffic of synchronous devices to indicated destinations;

determining whether handling of traffic is complete;

where the handling of traffic is incomplete, returning to handling traffic of synchronous devices to indicated destinations;

where handling of traffic is complete, returning to issuing, by Residential Gateway, the IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots;

where the home device is sending signaling/data in the asynchronous time slot/slots, determining whether a request for audio-video conferencing has been made;

if audio-video conferencing fails to be requested, sending traffic of the asynchronous devices to indicated destinations;

determining whether traffic handling is complete;

where handling of traffic is incomplete, returning to handling the traffic of asynchronous devices to the indicated destinations;

where handling of traffic is complete, returning, to issuing, by the Residential Gateway, the IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots;

where a request for audio-video conferencing is made, allocating an asynchronous channel to a Home Network device user and setting up an audio-video conferencing session/call with the Home Network device user to determine which device is to be used for incoming and outgoing bit streams/channels of each medium in accordance with a predetermined scheme;

registering details of the audio-video conferencing session/call to a network service controller by the Residential Gateway; and

setting up the audio-video conferencing session/call.

8. The audio-video conferencing system of claim 7 wherein the controller sets up the audio-video conferencing session/call by:

consulting profiles of a calling party and called party/parties in a profile database;

sending a reply back to the Residential Gateway;

upon sending, by the Residential Gateway, the reply to a calling party indicating whether the session/call may be made depending on requirements set by the calling party and by the called party/parties registered in the profile database, confirming a call request and upon receiving from the calling party, a setup message, contacting the called party/parties, and where the session/call is multipoint, contacting a multipoint controller; and

if preferred home devices in the Home Network of the called parties for audio and video conferencing are unknown from the profile database, setting up a negotiation with respective Residential Gateways of the called parties to obtain addresses of the preferred home devices;

using addresses of the home devices of the called party/parties to set up the session/call;

upon receiving confirmation by the called party/parties with a connect message, sending a call confirmation message back to the calling party; and

setting up a request for a media channel connection based on an optimum path.

9. The audio-video conferencing system of claim 8 wherein the requirements include performance parameters.

10. The audio-video conferencing system of claim 9 wherein a performance parameter is bandwidth.

11. An audio-video conferencing-system for efficient audio-video-conferencing utilizing a Home Network system coupled to a Residential Gateway that is coupled to an access/wide-area network that has a controller where the Home Network system has audio devices and video devices coupled by IEEE 1394 standard compliant connections in one of:

point-to-point and multipoint arrangement, comprising;

the Residential Gateway, arranged to transceive signals with the Home Network System, home devices and the access/wide-area network with the controller, for issuing, an IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots;

the controller, arranged to transceive signals with the access/wide-are network, for;

where home device/devices fail to be sending signaling/data in an asynchronous time slot/slots successfully, sending traffic of synchronous home devices until the traffic is complete and returning to issuing, by the Residential Gateway, the IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots;

handling, where a home device is sending signaling/data in the asynchronous time slot/slots and where audio-video conferencing fails to be requested, traffic of the asynchronous home device/devices until the traffic is complete and returning to issuing, by the Residential Gateway, the IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots; and

allocating an asynchronous channel and home devices for, registering details of, and setting up an audio-video conferencing session, where the home device is sending signaling/data in the asynchronous time slot/slots and where audio-videoconferencing has been requested.

12. The audio-video conferencing system of claim 11 wherein the controller sets up the audio-video conferencing session/call by:

consulting profiles of a calling party and called party/parties in a profile database;

sending a reply back to the Residential Gateway;

when the Residential Gateway sends the reply to a calling party indicating whether the session/call may be made or not depending on requirements set by the calling party as well as by the called party/parties registered in the profile database, confirming a call request and when the calling party sends a setup message to the controller, contacting the called parties, and where the call/session is multipoint, contacting, a multipoint controller; and

if preferred home devices in the Home Network of the called parties for audio and video conferencing are unknown from the profile database, setting up a negotiation with respective Residential Gateways of the called party/parties to obtain addresses of home devices;

using addresses of the home devices of the called parties to set up the session/call; and

upon receiving confirmation by the called party/parties with a connect message, sending a call confirmation message back to the calling party and setting up a request for a media channel connection based on-an optimum path.

13. A method for efficient audio-video conferencing utilizing a Home Network system coupled to a Residential Gateway that is coupled to an access/wide-area network that has a controller and the Home Network system has audio devices and video devices coupled by IEEE 1394 standard compliant connections in one of:

point-to-point and multipoint arrangement, comprising the steps of;

where the audio devices and video devices have completed sending signaling/data in a synchronous time slot/slots and asynchronous time slots that are uninvolved in audio-video conferencing;

issuing, by the Residential Gateway, an IEEE-1394 frame consisting of synchronous and asynchronous time slots; and

where there is a request for audio-video conferencing, allocating, by the controller, an asynchronous channel to a Home Network device user and setting up an audio-video conferencing session/call with the Home Network device user to determine which audio device/devices and video device/devices are to be used for incoming and outgoing bit streams/channels of each medium in accordance with a predetermined scheme;

registering, by the controller, details of the audio-video conferencing session to a network service controller by the Residential Gateway; and

setting up, by the controller, the audio-video conferencing session/call.