Method of and a network server and mobile user equipment for providing chat/VoIP services in a mobile telecommunications network

• US 9,723,512 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2015
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: den Hartog, Jos
• Primary Examiner(s): O CONNOR, BRIAN T
• Application Number:
  US14/918,726
• Publication Number:
  US 20160044528A1
• Time in Patent Office: 650 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0268 using specific QoS parameters for wireless networks, e.g. QoS class identifier [QCI] or guaranteed bit rate [GBR] negotiating SLA or negotiating QoS H04W28/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]

Abstract

A method of and an application server and user equipment for providing at least one of chat and Voice over Internet Protocol, chat/VoIP, services to the mobile user equipment in a mobile telecommunications network. The mobile user equipment comprises a chat/VoIP client for accessing a chat/VoIP service application interfacing the mobile telecommunications network. The chat/VoIP service application interfaces a plurality of proprietary chat/VoIP clients for accessing a plurality of proprietary chat/VoIP communication environments operated by a plurality of chat/VoIP service providers, for providing chat/VoIP services to the chat/VoIP client of the mobile user equipment. The chat/VoIP client and the chat/VoIP service application may be arranged such that privileged use of the mobile telecommunications network is enabled, providing a session between the user equipment and a communication environment with a predetermined or agreed Quality of Service.

Claims

1. A method implemented by an application server for providing at least one of chat and Voice over Internet Protocol (chat/VoIP) services to a mobile User Equipment (UE) in a mobile telecommunications network, wherein said mobile UE comprises a UE chat/VoIP client for accessing a chat/VoIP communication environment, and wherein the method comprises:

executing at the application server a privileged chat/VoIP service application to which the mobile telecommunications network guarantees quality of service;

executing a plurality of application server chat/VoIP clients at the application server that are configured to access a plurality of different chat/VoIP communication environments operated by a plurality of different chat/VoIP service providers; and

connecting said privileged chat/VoIP service application to said UE chat/VoIP client, and connecting said chat/VoIP service application to one or more of the plurality of application server chat/VoIP clients at the application server, to thereby enable the same UE chat/VoIP client to access different chat/VoIP communication environments with guaranteed quality of service over the mobile telecommunications network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the plurality of application server chat/VoIP clients at the application server are proprietary clients, and wherein the privileged chat/VoIP service application is a standardized service application that is non-proprietary.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising converting between proprietary protocols required by the plurality of application server chat/VoIP clients and a standardized protocol supported by the privileged chat/VoIP service application.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein providing said protocol conversion comprises coordinating and mapping of chat/VoIP services, features and, functions to and from the UE chat/VoIP client.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising reading and representing at the mobile UE in a single Graphical User Interface (GUI) statuses from different application chat/VoIP clients.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE chat/VoIP client is an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) based client, wherein the application server is a session initiation protocol (SIP) application server (SIP-AS) in an IMS core network, and wherein the privileged chat/VoIP service application is an IMS based application.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE chat/VoIP client is preinstalled on the mobile UE.

8. An application server for providing at least one of chat and Voice over Internet Protocol (chat/VoIP) services to a mobile User Equipment (UE) in a mobile telecommunications network, wherein the application server comprises communications equipment and processing equipment, wherein the processing equipment is configured to:

execute at the application server a privileged chat/VoIP service application to which the mobile telecommunications network guarantees quality of service;

execute a plurality of application server chat/VoIP clients at the application server that are configured to access a plurality of different chat/VoIP communication environments operated by a plurality of different chat/VoIP service providers; and

connect said privileged chat/VoIP service application to said UE chat/VoIP client, and connecting said chat/VoIP service application to one or more of the plurality of application server chat/VoIP clients at the application server, to thereby enable the same UE chat/VoIP client to access different chat/VoIP communication environments with guaranteed quality of service over the mobile telecommunications network.

9. The application server of claim 8, wherein said processing equipment and said communications equipment are configured to support Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signalling in an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).

10. The application server of claim 8, wherein at least some of the plurality of application server chat/VoIP clients at the application server are proprietary clients, and wherein the privileged chat/VoIP service application is a standardized service application that is non-proprietary.

11. The application server of claim 10, wherein said processing equipment is configured to convert between proprietary protocols required by the plurality of application server chat/VoIP clients and a standardized protocol supported by the privileged chat/VoIP service application.

12. The application server of claim 11, wherein said processing equipment is configured to provide said protocol conversion by coordinating and mapping of chat/VoIP services, features and, functions to and from the UE chat/VoIP client.

13. The application server of claim 8, wherein said processing equipment is configured to read and represent at the mobile UE in a single Graphical User Interface (GUI) statuses from different application chat/VoIP clients.

14. The application server of claim 8, wherein the UE chat/VoIP client is an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) based client, wherein the application server is a session initiation protocol (SIP) application server (SIP-AS) in an IMS core network, and wherein the privileged chat/VoIP service application is an IMS based application.

15. The application server of claim 8, wherein the UE chat/VoIP client is preinstalled on the mobile UE.

16. A mobile User Equipment (UE) configured to operate in a mobile telecommunications network, said mobile UE comprising input and output equipment, communications equipment, and processing equipment, wherein said processing equipment is configured to execute a UE chat/VoIP client and is further configured, via said input and output equipment, said communications equipment, and said UE chat/VoIP client, to:

access the chat/VoIP services of any given one of a plurality of different chat/VoIP communication environments by connecting the UE chat/VoIP client, via privileged use of said mobile telecommunications network, to a privileged chat/VoIP service application at an application server, wherein the mobile telecommunications network guarantees quality of service to the privileged chat/VoIP service application; and

represent Graphical User Interfaces of the plurality of different chat/VoIP communication environments.

17. The mobile UE of claim 16, wherein at least some of the plurality of different chat/VoIP communication environments are proprietary, and wherein the privileged chat/VoIP service application is a standardized service application that is non-proprietary.

18. The mobile UE of claim 16, wherein the UE chat/VoIP client is an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) based client, wherein the application server is a session initiation protocol (SIP) application server (SIP-AS) in an IMS core network, and wherein the privileged chat/VoIP service application is an IMS based application.

19. The mobile UE of claim 16, wherein the UE chat/VoIP client is preinstalled on the mobile UE.