Method and apparatus for obtaining group information by an invited user during a session

• US 8,112,106 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2008
• Issued: 02/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wu, Xugang, Wang, Zheng
• Primary Examiner(s): DEAN, RAYMOND S
• Application Number:
  US12/008,989
• Publication Number:
  US 20080274762A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,484 Days
• Field of Search: 455518-521, 709227-228
• US Class Current: 455/518
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4061 Push-to services, e.g. push-to-talk or push-to-video
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• 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

The present invention relates to a method for obtaining group information by an invited user in a Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC) session. The method comprises: sending, by a PoC client where a user initiating the session is located, a session request message carrying information about the user initiating the session and the session group member information to a PoC server; and sending, by the PoC server, the session request message carrying the information about the user initiating the session to a PoC client where the invited user is located. The PoC server sends session group member information to the PoC client where the invited user is located, so that the invited user is able to know the session group member, or refer to the session group member information to determine subsequent operations. The present invention has also disclosed a PoC system.

Claims

1. A method for obtaining group information by a second PoC client in a Push-to-Talk over Cellular, PoC, session, comprising:

initiating, by a first PoC client, a PoC Ad hoc session;

receiving, by a PoC server, a session request message carrying information about the first PoC client initiating the Ad hoc session and session group member information from the first PoC client;

sending, by the PoC server, the session request message carrying the session group member information to the second PoC client, wherein the session group member information is at least one of the following;

an IP address, a user nickname, a uniform resource identifier or a phone number;

receiving, by a participating function server, the session request message carrying the session group member information;

when determining to send the session group member information to the second PoC client according to an answer mode of the second PoC client and supplementary information of the session request message, sending session request message carrying the session group member information to the second PoC client;

when determining not to send the session group member information to the second PoC client according to the answer mode of the second PoC client and supplementary information of the session request message, deleting the session group member information, then sending the session request message to the second PoC client; and

obtaining, by the second PoC client, the session request message.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein before the process of sending, by the PoC server, the session group member information to the second PoC client, the session request message is sent to the second PoC client;

the method further comprising;

configuring parameters in the second PoC client, indicating whether to obtain the session group member information;

determining by the second PoC client, to obtain the session group member according to the parameters, after receiving the session request message from the PoC server; and

sending, by the second PoC client, a request message of obtaining the group member information to the PoC server.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein before the process of sending, by the PoC server, the session group member information to the second PoC client, the method further comprising:

sending the session request message to the second PoC client, wherein the session request message carries an indication of overriding configuration parameters; and

detecting the indication by the second PoC client, then compelling a user of the second PoC client to determine in a manual mode whether to obtain the session group member information.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein before the process of sending, by the PoC server, the session group member information to the second PoC client, the session request message is sent to the second PoC client;

the method further comprising;

receiving, by the second PoC client, the session request message; and

sending, by the second PoC client, a request message of obtaining the session group member information to the PoC server.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

when the answer mode of the second PoC client is an automatically answer mode, and the session request message does not indicate adopting an automatically answer overriding, the participating function server determining not to send the session group member information to the second PoC client;

or

when the answer mode of the second PoC client is a manually answer mode, and the session request message indicates adopting a manually answer overriding and possesses a right of the manually answer overriding, the participating function server determining not to send the session group member information to the second PoC client;

or

when the answer mode of the second PoC client is the manually answer mode, and the session request message does not indicate adopting the manually answer overriding, the participating function server determining to send the session group member information to the second PoC client;

or

when the answer mode of the second PoC client is the automatically answer mode, and the session request message indicates adopting the automatically answer overriding and possesses the right of the automatically answer overriding, the participating function server determining to send the session group member information to the second PoC client.

6. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the session request message sent to the second PoC client by the PoC server comprises group description information;

and

the method further comprises;

determining, by the second PoC client, by referring to the group description information whether to send a request message of obtaining session group member information to the PoC server.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the group description information comprises group type information and/or group size information.

8. A PoC server, comprising:

a user side hardware management module, and a control side hardware management module connected with the user side hardware management module, wherein

the user side hardware management module adapts to process transmission and reception of a voice stream as well as process a request of a right to speak;

the control side hardware management module adapts to manage and control signal, wherein the control side management module comprises;

a session management sub-module, adapted to process initiation and release of a session as well as participation and quitting of a member in the session, and send session group member information to a second PoC client with an Ad hoc session request message, wherein the session group member information is at least one of the following;

an IP address, a user nickname, a uniform resource identifier or a phone number; and

an information subscription and notification sub-module connected with the session management sub-module, adapted to support information subscription and information notification, and when determining to send the session group member information to the second PoC client according to an answer mode of the second PoC client and supplementary information of the session request message, send the session group member information to the second PoC client; and

when determining not to send the session group member information to the second PoC client according to the answer mode of the second PoC client and supplementary information of the session request message, delete the session group member information, then send the session request message to the second PoC client.

9. A PoC system, comprising a PoC client and a PoC server, the PoC client and the PoC server having a user side hardware management module and a control side hardware management module respectively, wherein the control side hardware management module of the PoC client comprises:

a session management sub-module, adapted to determine whether to further query group member information when receiving an Ad hoc session request message; and

an information subscription and reception sub-module connected with the session management sub-module, adapted to send a request message of a group member information to the PoC server, when the group member information needs to be queried, wherein the session group member information is at least one of the following;

an IP address, a user nickname, a uniform resource identifier or a phone number;

the control side management module of the PoC server comprises;

a session management sub-module, adapted to process initiation and release of an Ad hoc session as well as participation and quitting of a member in the session, and send session group member information to a second PoC client with a session request message; and

an information subscription and notification sub-module connected with the session management sub-module, adapted to support information subscription and information notification, and when determining to send the session group member information to the second PoC client according to an answer mode of the second PoC client and supplementary information of the session request message, send the session group member information to the second PoC client; and

when determining not to send the session group member information to the second PoC client according to the answer mode of the second PoC client and supplementary information of the session request message, delete the session group member information, then send the session request message to the second PoC client.

10. The PoC system according to claim 9, wherein by interacting with the user, the session management sub-module of the PoC client determines whether to query the group member information;

or according to configuration parameters, the session management sub-module determines whether to query the group member information.