Method and apparatus for enabling voice discussions among independent and simultaneous users of data content

• US 8,825,096 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2011
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Bekiares, Tyrone D., Agulnik, Anatoly, Newberg, Donald G., Tine, Steven D.
• Primary Examiner(s): AL AUBAIDI, RASHA S
• Application Number:
  US13/331,818
• Publication Number:
  US 20130156175A1
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• Field of Search: 379/202.01, 455/416, 455/518
• US Class Current: 455/518
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5009 Adding a party to an existing conference
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services

Abstract

Some embodiments are directed to methods and apparatuses for enabling voice discussions about a same data content being independently and simultaneously accessed on at least two devices. A server detects when a first device of the at least two devices accesses the data content. The server identifies and reserves an available voice communication group resource. Responsive to detecting that the at least two devices are independently and simultaneously accessing the data content, the server identifies and reserves an available voice communication group resource, and sends a voice group identifier for a reserved voice communication group resource to the at least two devices to allow access to the reserved voice communication group resource.

Claims

1. A method of enabling group voice discussions about a same data content being independently and simultaneously accessed on at least two data-enabled communications devices, the method comprising:

detecting that the at least two data-enabled communications devices are independently and substantially simultaneously accessing the same data content; and

responsive to the detecting that the at least two data-enabled communications devices are independently and substantially simultaneously accessing the same data content;

identifying and reserving an available voice communication group resource; and

providing a voice group identifier for the reserved voice communication group resource to at least two voice-enabled group communications devices associated with the at least two data-enabled communications devices to allow access to the reserved voice communication group resource, such that a subsequent voice transmission sent from either one of the at least two voice-enabled group communications devices using the voice group identifier is forwarded to all other voice-enabled group communications devices joined to the reserved voice communication group resource.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising releasing the reserved voice communication group resource responsive to determining that a number of data-enabled communications devices independently and simultaneously accessing the same data content or a number of voice-enabled group communications devices accessing the reserved voice communication group resource meets a predefined criterion.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the releasing comprises releasing the reserved voice communication group resource responsive to determining that one of:

the number of data-enabled communications devices accessing the same data content is at or below a predefined threshold,

a time-out period has expired after the number of data-enabled communications devices accessing the same data content is at or below a predefined threshold,

a time-out occurred after no activity is detected on voice-enabled group communications devices allowed access to the reserved voice communication group resource, and

a time-out occurred after a predefined period when the voice communication group resource is reserved and responsive to detecting no attempt to access the reserved voice communication group resource from voice-enabled group communications devices allowed access to the reserved voice communication group resource.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein responsive to receiving the voice group identifier, the at least two data-enabled communications devices are used in a talkgroup discussion.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting comprises transmitting all requests for the same data content sent from the at least two data-enabled communications devices through an intermediary server before sending the requests to a data source included in the requests.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting comprises using a uniform resource locator included in the requests sent from the at least two devices within a given time frame to determine if the same data content associated with the uniform resource locator requests is being accessed by the at least two data-enabled communications devices.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the reserving comprises reserving the voice communication group resource on a voice system implementing a one-to-many media distribution model, wherein the two or more voice-enabled group communications devices on the voice system are configured to facilitate ad hoc group voice conversation about the independently and substantially simultaneously accessed same data content accessed by the at least two data-enabled communications devices.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the reserving comprises reserving the voice communication group resource from a block of pre-allocated talkgroups for group discussions about the independently and substantially simultaneously accessed same data content accessed by the at least two data-enabled communications devices.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the block of pre-allocated talkgroups are provisioned as virtual channels on each of the at least two voice-enabled group communications devices, wherein each voice-enabled group communications device is engaged in talkgroup discussions when the virtual channel indicated by the talkgroup identifier is selected on the voice-enabled group communications device, or

wherein each voice-enabled group communications device is engaged in talkgroup discussions when the virtual channel indicated by the talkgroup identifier is added into a scan list of the voice-enabled group communications device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least two voice-enabled group communications devices are different from the at least two data-enabled communications devices;

and

wherein the reserving comprises mapping identifiers associated with the at least two data-enabled communications devices to voice device identifiers associated with the at least two voice-enabled group communications devices and providing the voice group identifier for the reserved voice communication group resource to the at least two voice-enabled group communications devices using the voice device identifiers.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the at least two voice-enabled group communications devices is the same device as one of the at least two data-enabled communications devices.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending comprises modifying the same data content requested on the at least two data-enabled communications devices to include the voice group identifier.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending comprises sending the voice group identifier to the at least two data-enabled communications devices via an out-of-band mechanism.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending comprises using a dynamic regroup feature to automatically place the at least two voice-enabled communications devices allowed access to the reserved voice communication group resource in a same talkgroup.

15. A server for enabling group voice discussions about a same data content being independently and simultaneously accessed on at least two data-enabled communications devices, the server configured to:

detect that the at least two data-enabled communications devices are independently and substantially simultaneously accessing the same data content; and

responsive to the detecting that the at least two data-enabled communications devices are independently and substantially simultaneously accessing the same data content;

identify and reserve an available voice communication group resource; and

provide a voice group identifier for the reserved voice communication group resource to at least two voice-enabled group communications devices associated with the at least two data-enabled communications devices to allow access to the reserved voice communication group resource, such that a subsequent voice transmission sent from either one of the at least two voice-enabled group communications devices using the voice group identifier is forwarded to all other voice-enabled group communications devices joined to the reserved voice communication group resource.

16. The server of claim 15, further configured to release the reserved voice communication group resource responsive to determining that a number of data-enabled communications devices independently and simultaneously accessing the same data content or a number of voice-enabled group communications devices accessing the reserved voice communication group resource meets a predefined criterion.

17. The server of claim 16, further configured to release the reserved voice communication group resource responsive to determining that:

the number of data-enabled communications devices accessing the same data content is at or below a predefined threshold,

a time-out period has expired after the number of data-enabled communications devices accessing the same data content is at or below a predefined threshold,

a time-out occurred after no activity is detected on voice-enabled group communications devices allowed access to the reserved voice communication group resource, or

a time-out occurred after a predefined period when the voice communication group resource is reserved and responsive to detecting no attempt to access the reserved voice communication group resource from voice-enabled group communications devices allowed access to the reserved voice communication group resource.

18. The server of claim 15, wherein the server is connected to an ingress/egress point of a data network and is further configured to detect requests for the same data content sent from the at least two data-enabled communications devices through an intermediary server before sending the requests to a data source included in the requests.

19. The server of claim 15, further configured to use a uniform resource locator included in the requests sent from the at least two data-enabled communications devices within a given time frame to determine if the same data content associated with the uniform resource locator requests is being accessed by the at least two data-enabled communications devices.

20. The server of claim 15, further configured to reserve the voice communication group resource from a block of pre-allocated talkgroups for group discussions about the independently and simultaneously accessed same data content on the at least two voice-enabled group communications devices.

21. The server of claim 20, wherein the block of pre-allocated talkgroups are provisioned as virtual channels on each voice-enabled group communications device, wherein each voice-enabled group communications device is engaged in talkgroup discussions when the virtual channel indicated by the talkgroup identifier is selected on the voice-enabled group communications device, or

wherein each voice-enabled group communications device is engaged in talkgroup discussions when the virtual channel indicated by the talkgroup identifier is added into a scan list of the voice-enabled group communications device.

22. The server of claim 15, wherein the same data content is a video stream.