Method for multi-terminal session, and communication system and related device thereof

• US 8,676,888 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2009
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2007
• 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: Xu, Guojun, Wang, Xiaobo
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thuong
• Application Number:
  US12/615,886
• Publication Number:
  US 20100057853A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,589 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/228, 709/224, 709/227, 709/223, 370/338, 370/401, 370/352, 455/436
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/39 Globally routable user-agent uniform resource identifier [GRUU] for the session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066

Abstract

A method for a multi-terminal session, and a communication system and related devices thereof are disclosed according to the present invention. Accordingly, the user experience is improved. The method of the present invention includes setting up a connection between each terminal of a multi-terminal user and a session transfer server; setting up a connection between the session transfer server and a peer user; conducting a session between each terminal of the multi-terminal user and the peer user via the session transfer server.

Claims

1. A method for a multi-terminals session, comprising:

receiving by a session transfer server, a SIP INVITE request sent by a terminal of first user, and the SIP INVITE request received by a session transfer server comprises information of a second user;

determining by the session transfer server, a multi-terminals session which is configured by the second user based on the information of the second user, wherein the second user registers with the session transfer server at least a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the first terminal and the second terminal are separate and distinct terminals;

forwarding by the session transfer server, the SIP INVITE request to the first terminal and the second terminal respectively, based on a configuration of the second user;

upon the first terminal and the second terminal receiving the SIP INVITE request, receiving by the session transfer server, respective first and second session acknowledgement from the first terminal and from the second terminal, wherein the first session acknowledgement from the first terminal comprises a first media type supported by the first terminal, and the second session acknowledgement from the second terminal comprises a second media type supported by the second terminal;

based on the determined first media type or the second media type, obtaining by the session transfer server, at least one of the first media type and the second media type, as a media capability of the session transfer server in order to conduct media negotiation with the first user;

sending by the session transfer server, a third session acknowledgement to the first user, wherein the third session acknowledgement comprises an address of the session transfer server and the at least one of the first media type and the second media type in order to set up a server media transport channel between the session transfer server and the first user; and

conducting by the session transfer server, a respective first and second media transport channel with the first terminal and the second terminal;

wherein the session transfer server representing the first and the second terminals as a multi-terminals user, conducting the multi-terminal session with the first user,

wherein the conducting of the multi-terminals session between each of the respective first and second terminals of the multi-terminal user with the first user comprising;

receiving by the session transfer server from the first user, a media message which comprises a requested media type content, afterwards, based on the first media type and the second media type;

determining by the session transfer server, a third terminal between the first terminal and the second terminal, wherein a third media type supported by the third terminal comprises at least a portion of the requested media type comprised in the media message;

sending the media message to the third terminal of the second user;

receiving respectively by the session transfer server, at least a first, a second and a third portions of the requested media type content of the media message from each of the first, second and third terminal of the second user, respectively; and

sending by the session transfer server, the at least respective first, second and third portions of the requested media type content of the media message to the first user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving by the session transfer server from the first terminal or the second terminal of the second user, a terminal join request for inviting the third terminal of the second user to join the multi-terminals session, wherein the terminal join request comprises the third media type supported by the third terminal;

sending by the session transfer server, an invitation request to the third terminal of the second user via a session initiation protocol message according to the terminal join request;

receiving by the session transfer server, an invitation acknowledgement from the third terminal of the second user.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving by the session transfer server, a media update request from the first user, wherein the media update request comprises a new media type to be used by the first user;

in case it is determined by the session transfer server, that the first the terminal or the second terminal cannot support the new media type;

searching for another terminal of the second user which supports the new media type;

adding by the session transfer server, the another terminal which supports the new media type into the session via the multi-terminals session initialization protocol message;

sending by the session transfer server, the media message received from the first user to the another terminal which supports the new media type.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving by the session transfer server, a terminal removal request from the first terminal of the second user, wherein the terminal removal request comprises information of the second terminal, to remove the second terminal from the session;

sending by the session transfer server according to the terminal removal request, a session termination request to the second terminal of the second user via the session initialization protocol message; and

receiving by the session transfer server, a session termination acknowledgement from the second terminal of the second user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein after the second terminal of the multi-terminal user leaves the multi-terminals session, the method comprising:

updating according to the media type of the second terminal of the second user, by the session transfer server, the second media type of the session transfer server through the second media type which is supported only by the second terminal of the second user; and

notifying by the transfer server, media types between the session transfer server and the first user to reduce the media types only to those supported by the second terminal.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving by the session transfer server, a terminal removal request from the first terminal of the second user, wherein the terminal removal request comprises information of the first terminal, to remove the first terminal from the session; and

feeding back by the session transfer server according to the terminal removal request, a session removal acknowledgement to the first terminal of the second user via the session initialization protocol message.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending by the third terminal, a join request to the second terminal or to the first terminal of the second user, wherein the join request comprises the third media type supported by the third terminal;

sending by one of the first terminal or the second terminal which receives the join request, a terminal join request to the session transfer server, and the terminal join request comprises the third media type supported by the third terminal; and

feeding back via a session initialization protocol message by the session transfer server according to the terminal join request, a join acknowledgement to the one of the first terminal or the second terminal which receives the join request.

8. A session transfer server, comprising hardware which comprises a plurality of units, the plurality of units comprise:

a connection setup unit, which performs;

receiving by a session transfer server, a SIP INVITE request sent by a terminal of first user, and the SIP INVITE request received by a session transfer server comprises information of a second user;

determining by the session transfer server, a multi-terminal session which is configured by the second user based on the information of the second user, wherein the second user registers with the session transfer server at least a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the first terminal and the second terminal are separate and distinct terminals;

forwarding by the session transfer server, the SIP INVITE request to the first terminal and the second terminal respectively, based on a configuration of the second user;

upon the first terminal and the second terminal receiving the SIP INVITE request, receiving by the session transfer server, respective first and second session acknowledgement from the first terminal and from the second terminal, wherein the first session acknowledgement from the first terminal comprises a first media type supported by the first terminal, and the second session acknowledgement from the second terminal comprises a second media type supported by the second terminal;

based on the determined first media type or the second media type, obtaining at least one of the first media type and the second media type as media capability of the session transfer server in order to conduct media negotiation with first user;

a channel setup unit, which performs;

setting up a respective first and second media transport channel with the first terminal and the second terminal,

in communication with the first user by sending a third session acknowledgement to the first user, wherein the third session acknowledgement comprises an address of the session transfer server and the at least one of the first media type and the second media type in order to set up a first media transport channel between the session transfer server and the first user; and

a session agent unit, which performs;

receiving from the first user, a media message which comprises a requested media type content, afterwards, based on the first media type and the second media type;

determining by the session transfer server, a third terminal between the first terminal and the second terminal, wherein a third media type supported by the third terminal comprises at least a portion of the requested media type comprised in the media message;

sending the media message to the third terminal of the second user;

receiving respectively by the session transfer server, at least a first, a second and a third portions of the requested media type content of the media message from each of the first, second and third terminal of the second user, respectively; and

sending by the session transfer server, the at least respective first, second and third portions of the requested media type content of the media message to the first user.