Methods and apparatus for providing PTT data buffering support indications from mobile devices and PTT data buffering control by wireless networks

• US 7,813,747 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2006
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Allen, Andrew, Zhao, Wen, Jin, Xin
• Primary Examiner(s): Ferguson; Keith T
• Application Number:
  US11/483,122
• Publication Number:
  US 20070021138A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,558 Days
• Field of Search: 455/518, 455/519, 455/560, 455/561, 455/550.1, 455/466, 455/500, 455/517, 455/422.1, 455/403, 455/416, 455/417, 455/412.1, 455/412.2, 4554141-4144, 370/310, 370/313, 370/328, 370/329, 370/338, 370/343
• US Class Current: 455/518
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services

Abstract

In one illustrative example of the present disclosure, a mobile communication device has one or more processors and a wireless transceiver adapted to provide communications through a wireless communication network. The one or more processors are operative to produce a mobile device indication message which indicates whether the mobile device supports buffering of Push-To-Talk (PTT) communications from the mobile device. This message is transmitted by the wireless transceiver to a PTT service entity through the wireless network. The one or more processors may be further operative to receive, from the PTT service entity through the wireless network, a network indication message which instructs the mobile device whether to use buffering for the PTT communications from the mobile device (assuming a buffer memory for PTT buffering is available in the mobile device). The mobile device may use the buffer memory for the buffering of the PTT communication based on the network indication message from the PTT service entity.

Claims

1. A method in a mobile communication device for Push-To-Talk (PTT) communications, the method comprising the acts of:

producing a mobile device indication which indicates whether the mobile communication device supports buffering, with use of a buffer, media data of a PTT communication prior to being sent from the mobile communication device;

wherein the mobile device indication provides one of a first indication that the mobile communication device supports buffering and a second indication that the mobile communication does not support buffering; and

sending the mobile device indication to a PTT service entity via a wireless communication network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device indication further indicates a buffer size of the buffer to be utilized for the buffering of the media data of the PTT communication.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the buffer size is a maximum buffer size to be utilized for the buffering of the media data of the PTT communication.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to sending the mobile device indication, receiving from the PTT service entity a network indication which controls use of the buffer of the mobile communication device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the network indication further indicates a buffer size of the buffer to be utilized for the buffering of the media data of the PTT communication.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein at least one of the network indication and the mobile device indication is included in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one of the network indication and the mobile device indication is included in Session Description Protocol (SDP) content of the SIP message.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the network indication controls use of the buffer to be utilized for buffering the media data of the PTT communication until all of the buffered media data has been sent from the mobile communication device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of sending the mobile network indication is performed prior to or during PTT communication session establishment.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication device has a first buffer size of the buffer for a first media type and a second buffer size of the buffer for a second media type, and the mobile device indication further indicates one of the first buffer size and the second buffer size to be utilized for the buffering of the media data of the PTT communication.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the media data comprises media data received at the mobile communication device prior to the receipt of an indication to transmit the PTT communication.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the indication to transmit causes the mobile communication device to begin the transmission of the media data of the PTT communication buffered in the buffer.

13. A mobile communication device, comprising:

one or more processors;

a wireless transceiver coupled to the one or more processors and adapted to provide communications through a wireless communication network;

the one or more processors being operative to;

produce a mobile device indication which indicates whether the mobile communication device supports buffering, with use of a buffer, media data of a PTT communication prior to being sent from the mobile communication device;

wherein the mobile device indication provides one of a first indication that the mobile communication device supports buffering and a second indication that the mobile communication does not support buffering; and

send the mobile device indication via the wireless transceiver to a PTT service entity via the wireless communication network.

14. The mobile communication device of claim 13, wherein the mobile device indication further indicates a buffer size of the buffer to be utilized for the buffering of the media data of the PTT communication.

15. The mobile communication device of claim 14, wherein the buffer size is a maximum buffer size to be utilized for the buffering of the media data of the PTT communication.

16. The mobile communication device of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further operative to:

in response to sending the mobile device indication, receive from the PTT service entity, via the wireless transceiver, a network indication which controls use of the buffer of the mobile communication device.

17. The mobile communication device of claim 16, wherein the network indication controls use of the buffer to be utilized for buffering the media data of the PTT communication until all of the buffered media data has been sent from the mobile communication device.

18. The mobile communication device of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are operative to send the mobile network indication prior to or during PTT communication session establishment.

19. The mobile communication device of claim 18, wherein the network indication further indicates a buffer size of the buffer to be utilized for the buffering of the media data of the PTT communication.

20. The mobile communication device of claim 18, wherein at least one of the network indication and the mobile device indication is included in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message.

21. The mobile communication device of claim 20, wherein the at least one of the network indication and the mobile device indication is included in Session Description Protocol (SDP) content of the SIP message.

22. The mobile communication device of claim 13, wherein the mobile communication device has a first buffer size of the buffer for a first media type and a second buffer size of the buffer for a second media type, and the mobile device indication further indicates one of the first buffer size and the second buffer size of the buffer to be utilized for the buffering of the media data of the PTT communication.

23. The mobile communication device of claim 13, wherein the media data comprises media data received at the mobile communication device prior to the receipt of an indication to transmit the PTT communication.

24. The mobile communication device of claim 23, wherein the indication to transmit causes the mobile communication device to begin the transmission of the media data of the PTT communication buffered in the buffer.

25. A method in a Push-To-Talk (PTT) server for providing PTT communications for a mobile communication device, the method comprising the acts of:

producing a network indication which indicates a value of a buffer size of a buffer of the mobile communication device to be used for buffering media data of a PTT communication prior to being sent from the mobile communication device; and

sending the network indication to the mobile communication device via a wireless communication network.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the act of sending the network indication is performed prior to or during PTT communication session establishment.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the buffer size is a first buffer size utilized for the buffering of a first media type of PTT communication, and the mobile communication device utilizes a second buffer size of the buffer for the buffering of a second media type of PTT communication, and wherein the network indication indicates a value of the first buffer size utilized for the buffering of the first media type of PTT communication.

28. The method of claim 25,

wherein the network indication is sent to the mobile communication device only if a mobile device indication is first received from the communication device, the mobile device indication indicating that support exists for the buffering of the media date of the PTT communication with use of the buffer.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein at least one of the network indication and the mobile device indication is included in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein at least one of the network indication and the mobile device indication is included in Session Description Protocol (SDP) content of the SIP message.

31. The method of claim 25, wherein the buffer size is a maximum buffer size to be utilized for the buffering of the media data of the PTT communication.

32. The method of claim 25, wherein the network indication provides one of a first indication that the mobile communication device is allowed to buffer media data and a second indication that the mobile communication device is not allowed to buffer media data.

33. A Push-To-Talk (PTT) server, comprising:

a processor which is configured to produce a network indication which indicates a value of a buffer size of a buffer of a mobile communication device which is used for buffering media data of a PTT communication prior to being sent from the mobile communication device, and cause the network indication message to be sent to the mobile communication device via a wireless communication network.

34. The PTT server of claim 33, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the network indication prior to or during PTT communication session establishment.

35. The PTT server of claim 33, wherein the buffer size is a first buffer size utilized for the buffering of a first media type of PTT communication, and the mobile communication device utilizes a second buffer size of the buffer for the buffering of a second media type of PTT communication, and wherein the network indication indicates a value of the first buffer size utilized for the buffering of the first media type of PTT communication.

36. The PTT server of claim 33, wherein the network indication is sent to the mobile communication device only if a mobile device indication is first received from the communication device, the mobile device indication indicating that support exists for the buffering of the media date of the PTT communication with use of the buffer.

37. The PTT server of claim 36, wherein at least one of the network indication and the mobile device indication is included in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message.

38. The PTT server of claim 37, wherein at least one of the network indication and the mobile device indication is included in Session Description Protocol (SDP) content of the SIP message.

39. The PTT server of claim 33, wherein the buffer size is a maximum buffer size to be utilized for the buffering of the media data of the PTT communication.

40. The PTT server of claim 33, wherein the network indication provides one of a first indication that the mobile communication device is allowed to buffer media data and a second indication that the mobile communication device is not allowed to buffer media data.

41. A wireless communication system, comprising:

a wireless communication network;

a Push-To-Talk (PTT) service entity in the wireless communication network;

one or more mobile communication devices, each mobile communication device being configured to operate in the wireless communication network and including;

one or more processors;

a wireless transceiver coupled to the one or more processors;

the one or more processors being operative to;

produce a mobile device indication which indicates whether the mobile communication device supports buffering, with use of a buffer, media data of a PTT communication prior to being sent from the mobile communication device;

wherein the mobile device indication provides one of a first indication that the mobile communication device supports buffering and a second indication that the mobile communication does not support buffering; and

cause the mobile device indication message to be sent via the wireless transceiver to the PTT service entity via the wireless communication network.

42. The wireless communication system of claim 41, further comprising:

the PTT service entity being configured to produce a network indication which controls use of the buffer of the mobile communication device for the buffering of the media data of the PTT communication from the mobile communication device, and to cause the network indication to be sent to the mobile communication device via the wireless communication network.

43. The wireless communication system of claim 42, wherein at least one of the network indication and the mobile device indication is included in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message.

44. The wireless communication system of claim 43, wherein the at least one of the network indication and the mobile device indication is included in Session Description Protocol (SDP) content of the SIP message.

45. The wireless communication system of claim 41, wherein at least one mobile communication device includes the buffer for use in buffering the media data of the PTT communications.