Terminating device and a method of operating a terminating device configured to communicate availability status directly between terminating devices

• US 7,694,313 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2006
• Issued: 04/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Palm, Inc. (TCL Technology Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Jager, Ivo Ruben Willem, O'Shaughnessy, Kevin Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; David Q
• Application Number:
  US11/615,801
• Publication Number:
  US 20080153538A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,201 Days
• Field of Search: 455/550.1, 709/203, 709/206, 709/224, 719/321
• US Class Current: 719/321
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4061 Push-to services, e.g. push-to-talk or push-to-video
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42093 Notifying the calling party of information on the called or connected party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services

Abstract

A system and a method are disclosed for a terminating device for a communications network which comprises an application program configured to utilize an availability status of a user; a communications interface configured to receive and/or transmit data and a presence engine. The presence engine is configured to provide the communications interface with data representative of an availability status of a user, and cause the communications interface to transmit the data directly to another terminating device. Alternatively, or additionally, the presence engine is configured to receive data representative of an availability status of the user directly from another terminating device, and make available data representative of the received availability status of a user to the application program.

Claims

1. A device for a communications network comprising:

an application program configured to utilize availability status of a user;

a communications interface configured to transmit data directly to another device; and

a presence engine configured to obtain data representative of the availability status of the user from the application program in a native format specific to the application program, translate the obtained data from the native format to a generic format independent of the application program, provide the communications interface with the data representative of the availability status of the user in the generic format, and cause the communications interface to transmit the translated data in the generic format directly to another device.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the communications network is a peer-to-peer network.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the device comprises a mobile computing device.

4. A device for a communications network, the device comprising:

a plurality of application programs configured to utilize availability status of a user;

a communications interface configured to receive data directly from another device, wherein the received data is in a generic format independent of the plurality of application programs; and

a presence engine configured to determine which of the plurality of application programs have been recorded as utilizing the availability status of the user, translate the received data representative of the availability status of a the user from the generic format to one or more native formats specific to each application program that has been recorded as utilizing the availability status of the user, and provide each of the application programs that have been recorded as utilizing the availability status of the user with the translated data in the native formats specific to each application program.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the communications network is a peer-to-peer network.

6. The device of claim 4, wherein the device comprises a mobile computing device.

7. A method of operating a device for a communications network comprising:

obtaining, by the device, data representative of an availability status of a user in relation to an application program configured to utilize availability status of a user, wherein the obtained data representative of the availability status is in a native format specific to the application program;

translating, by the device, the obtained data representative of the availability status of the user from the native format specific to the application program to a generic format independent of the application program; and

sending the translated data representative of the availability status of the user in the generic format from the device directly to another device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the communications network is a peer-to-peer network.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the device comprises a mobile computing device.

10. A method of operating a device for a communications network comprising:

receiving by the device, data representative of an availability status of a user directly from another device, wherein the received data is in a generic format independent of a plurality of application programs;

determining, by the device, which of the plurality of application programs have been recorded as utilizing the availability status of the user;

translating, by the device, the received data representative of the availability status of a the user from the generic format to one or more native formats specific to each application program that has been recorded as utilizing the availability status of the user; and

providing each of the application programs that have been recorded as utilizing the availability status of the user with the translated data in the native formats specific to each application program.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the communications network is a peer-to-peer network.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the method is performed by a mobile computing device including a wireless communications module, the wireless communication module configured for a telephony operation.

13. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for operating a device for a communications network, the instructions when executed cause one or more processors to perform steps of:

obtaining data representative of an availability status of a user in relation to an application program configured to utilize availability status of a user, wherein the obtained data representative of the availability status is in a native format specific to the application program;

translating the obtained data representative of the availability status of the user from the native format specific to the application program to a generic format independent of the application program; and

sending, directly to another device, the translated data representative of the availability status of the user in the generic format.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the communications network is a peer-to-peer network.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the device comprises a mobile computing device.

16. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for operating a device for a communications network, the instructions when executed cause one or more processors to perform steps of:

receiving data representative of an availability status of a user directly from another device, wherein the received data is in a generic format independent of a plurality of application programs;

determining which of the plurality of application programs have been recorded as utilizing the availability status of the user;

translating the received data representative of the availability status of a the user from the generic format to one or more native formats specific to each application program that has been recorded as utilizing the availability status of the user; and

providing each of the application programs that have been recorded as utilizing the availability status of the user with the translated data in the native formats specific to each application program.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the communications network is a peer-to-peer network.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the device comprises a mobile computing device including a wireless communications module configured for a telephony operation.