Quality-of-service (QoS)-based delivery of multimedia call sessions using multi-network simulcasting

• US 9,089,003 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2005
• Issued: 07/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Karaoguz, Jeyhan, Bennett, James D., Seshadri, Nambirajan
• Primary Examiner(s): Sabouri, Mazda
• Application Number:
  US11/093,322
• Publication Number:
  US 20060025148A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,765 Days
• Field of Search: 455/452.2, 455/558, 370/352
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/57 for mobile receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/72 of terrestrial networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/27 specially adapted for broadcast systems covered by groups H04H20/53 - H04H20/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/91 Mobile communication networks for accessing the Internet H04H60/85
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/92 for local area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1026 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• 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 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/02 : Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 : Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 : Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 : Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 : Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A method and system for the consumption of simulcasted or multicasted multimedia information via a wireless personal or local area network by a broadband access gateway, is disclosed. A user of an access device such as, for example, a mobile multimedia handset may engage in a call served by a wireless wide area network, and may consume components of multimedia information via the wireless wide area network. Additional components of the multimedia information may be provided to the user via a second communication path, based upon user-defined parameters in a user profile. Selected components or all of the multimedia information may be communicated to a broadband access gateway, where it may be cached, or simulcast to a plurality of access devices in a wired fashion, or wirelessly via a personal area and/or wireless local area network.

Claims

1. A system supporting consumption of multimedia information using simulcasting at a plurality of locations, the system comprising:

a gateway device arranged to be locally coupled to at least one of a personal area network or a wireless local area network and communicatively coupled to a wireless wide area network via a broadband network, the gateway device arranged to establish communication of the multimedia information with an access device, the gateway device being operable to identify a location of the access device and access a user profile associated with the access device, where the user profile comprises user defined parameters that identify multimedia communication characteristics including a plurality of quality levels and a corresponding plurality of locations associated with the plurality of quality levels for delivering the multimedia information, the gateway device being arranged to deliver the multimedia information according to the level of quality in the user profile associated with the location.

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein the multimedia information comprises one or more of:

streaming video, broadcast video, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitized video, and/or digitized music.

3. The system according to claim 1 wherein the broadband network comprises one or more of:

a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, a local multipoint distribution system (LMDS), and/or the Internet.

4. The system according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of access devices comprises one or more of:

a mobile multimedia handset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and/or a personal computer (PC).

6. The system according to claim 1 wherein the user profile is received from the broadband network.

7. The system according to claim 1 wherein the user profile is stored in the gateway device.

8. The system according to claim 1 wherein the gateway device determines path preferences from the multimedia communication characteristics to be used for communication with the access device for each location.

9. The system according to claim 1 wherein the multimedia communication characteristics associated with the location include a bandwidth of the multimedia information.

10. The system according to claim 1 wherein the multimedia communication characteristics associated with the location include a bit rate of the multimedia information.

11. The system according to claim 1 wherein the multimedia communication characteristics associated with the location include a color depth of the multimedia information.

19. The system according to claim 1, wherein the access device is operable to display a notification screen comprising a plurality of levels of quality available for delivering the multimedia information based on the location of the access device.

20. The system according to claim 1, wherein the levels of quality correspond to additional communication paths for simulcasting the multimedia information.

5. A machine-readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections for operating a system supporting consumption of multimedia information by a plurality of access devices using simulcasting by a wireless wide area network to a gateway device having at least one wireless interface, the gateway device locally coupled to at least one of a personal area network or a wireless local area network and communicatively coupled to the wireless wide area network via a broadband network, the code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the operations comprising:

establishing communication of the multimedia information with a first access device;

identifying a location of the first access device;

retrieving a user profile associated with the first access device, where the user profile comprises user defined parameters that specify a plurality of quality levels and a corresponding plurality of locations associated with the plurality of quality levels; and

delivering the multimedia information according to the multimedia communication characteristics for the location.

12. The machine-readable storage according to claim 5 wherein the user profile is received from the broadband network.

13. The machine-readable storage according to claim 5 wherein the user profile is stored in the gateway device.

14. The machine-readable storage according to claim 5 wherein the gateway device determines path preferences from the multimedia communication characteristics to be used for communication with the access device for each location.

15. The machine-readable storage according to claim 5 wherein the multimedia communication characteristics associated with the location include a bandwidth of the multimedia information.

16. The machine-readable storage according to claim 5 wherein the multimedia communication characteristics associated with the location include a bit rate of the multimedia information.

17. The machine-readable storage according to claim 5 wherein the multimedia communication characteristics associated with the location include a color depth of the multimedia information.

18. The machine-readable storage according to claim 5 wherein the multimedia communication characteristics associated with the location include a frame rate of the multimedia information.

21. The system according to claim 5 wherein the gateway device is operable to simulcast an audio component of the multimedia information to the first device of the plurality of access devices.

22. The system according to claim 21 wherein the gateway device is operable to simulcast a video component of the multimedia information to the second device of the plurality of access devices.