Method and system for real-time synchronization across a distributed services communication network

• US 8,559,319 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2008
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Voxer IP LLC (Voxer, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Voxer IP LLC (Voxer, Inc.)
• Inventors: Katis, Thomas E., Panttaja, James T., Panttaja, Mary G., Ranney, Matthew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chery, Dady
• Application Number:
  US12/253,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20090103531A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,824 Days
• Field of Search: 370/389, 370/394, 370/473, 370/474, 370/392, 370/503, 370/350, 370/260, 370/263, 370/270, 370/428, 370/429, 379/67.1, 379/87, 379/88.04, 379/88.12, 379/88.17, 379 8822- 8827
• US Class Current: 370/249
• 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 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4053 without floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355

Abstract

A system for progressively synchronizing stored copies of indexed media transmitted between nodes on a network. The system includes a transmitter at the sending node configured to progressively transmit available indexed media to a receiving node with a packet size and packetization interval sufficient to enable the near real-time rendering of the indexed media, wherein the near real-time rendering of the indexed media provides a recipient with an experience of reviewing the transmitted media live. The system also includes a receiver at the receiving node that progressively receives the transmitted indexed media and continually notes any indexed media that is not already locally stored at the receiving node. The receiver also continually generates and transmits to the sending node requests as needed for the noted indexed media. In response, the transmitter at the sending node transmits the noted indexed media to the receiving node. Both the sending node and the receiving node have storage elements configured to store the indexed media respectively. As a result, both the sending node and the receiving node each have synchronized copies of the indexed media.

Claims

1. Computer readable code embedded in a non-transient computer readable medium and intended to run on a client communication device having a transmission module arranged to create, persistently store and transmit outgoing voice messages and a reception module arranged to receive and persistently store incoming voice messages, the code comprising:

a synchronization module configured to synchronize copies of persistently stored transmitted and received voice messages exchanged between the client communication device running the code and a remote client communication device, the synchronization module performing the synchronization until both the client communication device and the remote client communication device have persistently stored complete copies of both the voice messages transmitted by the client communication device to the remote client communication device and the voice messages received by the client communication device from the remote client communication device, wherein the synchronization may occur and complete after it is no longer possible to render at least one of the transmitted and received voice messages in real-time; and

a render control module configured to selectively render the voice media of the received messages on the client communication device in both;

(i) a real-time mode that progressively renders the voice media as a stream containing the voice media is received from the remote client communication device; and

(ii) a time-shifted mode by retrieving and rendering the received voice media from persistent storage.

2. The code of claim 1, wherein the render control module is further configured to selectively transition the rendering of the voice media of the received messages between the modes (i) and (ii).

3. The code of claim 2, wherein the render control module provides one or more of the following rendering options for rendering the voice media of the received messages on the client communication device:

(i) play;

(ii) play faster;

(iii) play slower;

(iv) jump forward;

(v) jump backward;

(vi) jump to the most current media; and

(vii) pause; and

(viii) catch up to the most recently received voice media of an incoming message.

4. The code of claim 1, wherein the voice media of the transmitted and received messages is live voice media that is:

(i) transmitted by the client communication device as the voice media is created;

or

(ii) received as the voice media is transmitted by the remote client communication device.

5. The code of claim 1, wherein the transmitted and received voice media of the messages is streamed over a network as the voice media is created.

6. The code of claim 1, further comprising a storage module configured to persistently store at a storage location accessible by the client communication device the complete copies of the voice media of the transmitted and received messages.

7. The code of claim 1, wherein the storage module is further configured to persistently store the voice media of the transmitted and received messages in a time-indexed format.

8. The code of claim 1, further comprising a conversation module configured to associate selected transmitted and received voice messages with one or more conversations.

9. The code of claim 1, wherein the synchronization module is configured to note voice media missing from the voice messages received from the remote client communication device.

10. The code of claim 9, wherein the synchronization module is further configured to generate requests for retransmission of the voice media noted as missing.

11. The code of claim 1, wherein the synchronization module is further configured to:

note missing, corrupted or reduced bit rate representations of the voice media of the received messages;

maintain a data quality store for the noted voice media; and

remove the noted voice media from the data quality store as the noted voice media is received at the client communication device as the requests for retransmission are satisfied.

12. The code of claim 11, wherein the synchronization module is further configured to generate the requests for retransmission by:

scanning the data quality store;

generating receipt reports, the receipt reports including the requests for retransmission of the voice media noted in the data quality store; and

transmitting the receipt reports from the client communication device to the remote client communication device.

13. The code of claim 1, wherein the synchronization module is further configured to synchronize the transmitted voice messages between the client communication device and the remote client communication device by retransmitting voice media noted as missing by the remote client communication device so that both devices have persistently stored complete copies of the transmitted voice messages.

14. The code of claim 1, further comprising a messaging module configured to transmit and receive messages containing one or more of the following types of media:

video, voice, text, sensor data, position or GPS information, radio signals, or a combination thereof.

15. The code of claim 1, wherein the client communication device configured to run the code consists of one of the following:

land-line phone, wireless phone, cellular phone, mobile phone, satellite phone, computer, radio, server, satellite radio, tactical radio or tactical phone.

16. Computer readable code embedded in a non-transient computer readable medium and intended to run on a client communication device, the code comprising:

a synchronization module configured to synchronize copies of persistently stored transmitted and received voice messages exchanged between the client communication device running the code and a remote client communication device, the synchronization module performing the synchronization until both the client communication device and the remote client communication device have persistently stored complete copies of both the voice messages transmitted by the client communication device to the remote client communication device and the voice messages received by the client communication device from the remote client communication device;

a render control module configured to selectively render the voice media of the received messages on the client communication device in both,

(a) a real-time mode as the voice media is received from the remote client communication device, and

(b) a time-shifted mode by retrieving and rendering the received voice media from persistent storage, and

a transmit module configured to progressively transmit the voice media of a select message from the client communication device to the remote client communication device by;

(i) defining a transmission loop;

(ii) determining the voice media of the select message available for transmission during the defined transmission loop;

(iii) ascertaining bandwidth on a network coupling the client communication device and the remote client communication device during the transmission loop;

(iv) comparing the ascertained bandwidth on the network with the bandwidth necessary to transmit the available voice media; and

(v) transmitting the available voice media if the ascertained bandwidth is sufficient during the transmission loop.

17. The code of claim 16, wherein the transmit module is further configured to progressively transmit the available voice media by:

(vi) determining if the ascertained bandwidth is not sufficient for transmitting the available voice media during the transmission loop;

(vii) generating a reduced bit rate representation of the available voice media; and

(viii) transmitting the reduced bit rate representation when the available bandwidth on the network is not sufficient during the transmission loop,

whereby the transmission of the reduced bit rate representation enhances the timeliness of the delivery of the voice media so as to increase the ability of the remote client communication device to render the media upon receipt.

18. The code of claim 17, wherein the transmit module is further configured to generate the reduced bit rate representation of the available voice media by performing one or more of the following:

(a) using fewer bits per media unit of time when packetizing the reduced bit rate representation of the media relative to a bit rate representation of the media as originally encoded;

(b) adjusting the packetization interval for packets used to packetized the reduced bit rate representation of the media;

(c) adjusting the rate of transmission of the packets used to packetized the reduced bit rate representation of the media;

or

(d) any combination of (a) through (c).

19. The code of claim 18, wherein the transmit module is further configured, for the duration of the select message, to continually define transmission loops and perform (i) through (viii) and (a) through (c) as needed for each transmission loop.