Prioritization of group communications at a wireless communication device

• US 9,014,741 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2013
• Issued: 04/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Aggarwal, Ashutosh, Brewer, Beth A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rego, Dominic E
• Application Number:
  US13/791,167
• Publication Number:
  US 20130190033A1
• Time in Patent Office: 774 Days
• Field of Search: 455517-520, 455/553.1, 455/90.2, 455/78, 455/79, 455/500, 455/426.1, 455/412.1, 455/414.1, 455/416, 455/420, 370/352, 370/389, 370/338, 370/328
• US Class Current: 455/518
• 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

An embodiment is directed to switching between server-arbitrated group communication sessions at an access terminal (AT) within a wireless communications system. The AT participates in a first group communication session when it receives an announce message announcing a second group communication session, acquires priority levels for the first and/or second group communication sessions and determines whether to switch between sessions based on the priority level(s). In another embodiment, the AT participates in a given processing task (e.g., a gaming session, a voice call, a group session, etc.) when it receives an alert that relates to a group communication session. If the alert is specially configured to force the given access terminal to drop the given processing task, the AT drops the given processing task irrespective of whether the AT later joins the announced group communication session.

Claims

1. A method of forcing a given access terminal to drop a given processing task within a wireless communications system, comprising:

receiving, at the given access terminal when the given access terminal is participating in the given processing task, an alert that is related to a group communication session, wherein the alert corresponds to an announce message that announces the group communication session, and the given access terminal does not join the announced group communication session;

determining, at the given access terminal, whether the alert is configured to force the given access terminal to drop the given processing task; and

dropping the given processing task based on the determining,

wherein the given processing task is a non-communicative process executed at the given access terminal or a current communication session in which the given access terminal is participating.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the given processing task corresponds to the current communication session which is not of a group communication session type.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the given processing task relates to a gaming session, a web-browsing session or a one-to-one voice call.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the given processing task corresponds to the current communication session which is a current group communication session.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the current group communication session corresponds to a push-to-talk (PTT) session, a push-to-transfer (PTX) session, a half-duplex communication session or a full-duplex communication session.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the group communication session corresponds to a push-to-talk (PTT) session, a push-to-transfer (PTX) session, a half-duplex communication session or a full-duplex communication session,

the method further comprising receiving the alert over a data channel upon detecting the group communication session corresponding to the half-duplex communication session and a voice channel being used for the PTT session.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the alert comprises a notification message for the group communication session that is successfully decoded by the given access terminal, and wherein the determining evaluates a configuration of the successfully decoded alert message to identify whether the configuration has been configured to request the given access terminal to drop the given processing task.

8. The method of claim 1,

wherein the given processing task is the current communication session, and

wherein the dropping drops the given access terminal out of the current communication session.

9. An access terminal configured to drop a given processing task within a wireless communications system, comprising:

means for receiving, when the access terminal is participating in the given processing task, an alert that is related to a group communication session, wherein the alert corresponds to an announce message that announces the group communication session, and the given access terminal does not join the announced communication session;

means for determining whether the alert is configured to force the access terminal to drop the given processing task; and

means for dropping the given processing task based on the determination of the means for determining,

wherein the given processing task is a non-communicative process executed at the access terminal or a current communication session in which the access terminal is participating.

10. An access terminal configured to drop a given processing task within a wireless communications system, comprising:

logic configured to receive, when the access terminal is participating in the given processing task, an alert that is related to a group communication session, wherein the alert corresponds to an announce message that announces the group communication session, and the given access terminal does not join the announced group communication session;

logic configured to determine whether the alert is configured to force the access terminal to drop the given processing task; and

logic configured to drop the given processing task based on the determination of the logic configured to determine,

wherein the given processing task is a non-communicative process executed at the access terminal or a current communication session in which the access terminal is participating.

11. The access terminal of claim 10, wherein the given processing task corresponds to the current communication session which is not of a group communication session type.

12. The access terminal of claim 11, wherein the given processing task relates to a gaming session, a web-browsing session or a one-to-one voice call.

13. The access terminal of claim 10, wherein the given processing task corresponds to the current communication session which is a current group communication session.

14. The access terminal of claim 13, wherein the current group communication session corresponds to a push-to-talk (PTT) session, a push-to-transfer (PTX) session, a half-duplex communication session or a full-duplex communication session.

15. The access terminal of claim 10, wherein the group communication session corresponds to a push-to-talk (PTT) session, a push-to-transfer (PTX) session, a half-duplex communication session or a full-duplex communication session, wherein the access terminal is further configured to receive the alert over a data channel upon detecting the group communication session corresponding to the half-duplex communication session and a voice channel being used for the PPT session.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by an access terminal configured to drop a given processing task within a wireless communications system, cause the access terminal to perform operations, the instructions comprising:

program code to receive, when the access terminal is participating in the given processing task, an alert that is related to a group communication session, wherein the alert corresponds to an announce message that announces the group communication session, and the given access terminal does not join the announced group communication session;

program code to determine whether the alert is configured to force the access terminal to drop the given processing task; and

program code to drop the given processing task based on the determination of the program code to determine,

wherein the given processing task is a non-communicative process executed at the given access terminal or a current communication session in which the given access terminal is participating.