Method of implementing a communications session between a plurality of terminals

• US 11,025,683 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2014
• Issued: 06/01/2021
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Original Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Inventors: Cazeaux, Stephane, Bertin, Emmanuel
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder, Patrice L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Widhalm De Rodrig, Angela M
• Application Number:
  US14/508,634
• Publication Number:
  US 20150100639A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,429 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of initializing a communications session between a plurality of terminals. According to the invention, the initialization method is adapted, as a function of capacity data for at least one terminal, to determine a set of at least one stream transmission channel to be set up between entities of a group of entities comprising said terminals, each channel being for setting up between a first entity and a second entity of the group either directly, or indirectly via at least one third entity of said group, and to transmit at least one entity identifier to at least one first entity of the group in order to set up at least one channel of the set. The invention also relates to a method of accessing a communications session, the method being adapted to receive at least one identifier of at least one entity with which at least one channel is to be set up and to set up at least one channel with at least one entity for which said at least one identifier has been received. The invention also relates to a server (S) and to a terminal (TA) respectively for performing the initialization method and the method of accessing a communications session.

Claims

1. An initialization method comprising:

initializing a multimedia communications session between a plurality of at least three terminals, said communications session involving multimedia streams exchanged between said terminals either bypassing or through a communications device, each terminal of the plurality and the communication device being able to communicate with a server via a network, said initializing comprising the following acts performed by the server to support lightening a load on the communication device;

receiving for each terminal of the plurality a connection request, said connection request including capacity data for the terminal, said capacity data relating to capacity of the terminal to process incoming or outgoing stream transmission channels simultaneously;

obtaining for each terminal of the plurality, as function of the capacity data received, a number of stream transmission channels supported simultaneously by said terminal, wherein types of the stream transmission channels are predefined and depend on a service to be done by the multimedia communication session, the type of each of said stream transmission channels defining a type of data conveyed in said stream transmission channel and defining if the stream is unidirectional or bidirectional;

determining a graph representing entities of a group of entities and links between entities to set up the multimedia communications session, said group comprising the terminals of the plurality and, depending on the capacity data, the communication device,

each link interconnecting directly two entities representing a stream transmission channel of the predefined type to be set up between said entities,

each terminal of the plurality being linked to each other terminal of the plurality either directly or via at least another entity of the group,

the number of entities linked to each terminal of the plurality of terminals depending respectively of said number of stream transmission channels supported by said terminal, and

for each link interconnecting directly two entities, determining a first entity and a second entity from among the two entities; and

initializing the multimedia communications session by transmitting at least one entity identifier of at least one determined second entity to at least one said respective first entity of said group for setting up at least one stream transmission channel of the multimedia communications session represented by a link of said graph.

2. The initialization method according to claim 1, wherein determining said graph comprises the following acts:

calculating, on the basis of said numbers of stream transmission channels supported by the terminals, a number of links of said graph interconnecting directly two terminals;

calculating a number of necessary stream transmission channels needed for interconnecting all of the terminals of the plurality of terminals; and

comparing said number of links interconnecting directly two terminals with said number of necessary stream transmission channels; and

wherein said graph comprises only stream transmission channels directly interconnecting two terminals of the plurality of terminals if the number of links interconnecting directly two terminals is greater than or equal to said number of necessary stream transmission channels.

3. The initialization method according to claim 2, wherein, if the number of links interconnecting directly two terminals is less than said number of necessary stream transmission channels, said graph comprises at least one stream transmission channel to be set up between one of the terminals and a communications device.

4. The initialization method according to claim 1, wherein, after receiving a notification signal that a terminal of the plurality has been disconnected, or a request for connecting an additional terminal, the determining act is reiterated with a second group of entities comprising the remaining terminals of the plurality, or comprising a third group of entities comprising the terminals of the plurality of terminals plus said additional terminal.

5. The initialization method according to claim 4, wherein, when reiterating the determining act, the stream transmission channels between a first entity and a second entity as determined during a preceding iteration are maintained if both of the first and second entities remain connected.

6. The initialization method according to claim 1, wherein the method further includes an act of determining secondary stream transmission channels used in the event of a terminal being disconnected.

7. The initialization method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting act comprises transmitting information about each stream transmission channel of said number of stream transmission channels to each of the terminals, said information comprising at least an identifier of a first entity and a second entity identifier.

8. The initialization method according to claim 7, wherein the transmitting act further comprises transmitting service data to each terminal, the service data relating to at least one terminal.

9. An access method comprising:

accessing a multimedia communications session between a plurality of at least three terminals, said communications session involving multimedia streams exchanged between said terminals either bypassing or through a communications device, each terminal of the plurality and the communication device being able to communicate with a server via a network, wherein the accessing comprises the following acts performed by a terminal of said plurality of terminals to support lightening a load on the communication device;

receiving at least one identifier of at least one second entity with which at least one stream transmission channel is to be set up, the at least one identifier being received from the server, which has received for each terminal of the plurality of terminals a connection request comprising capacity data for said terminal, said capacity data relating to capacity of the terminal to process incoming or outgoing stream transmission channels simultaneously, has obtained for each terminal of the plurality, as function of the capacity data received, a number of stream transmission channels supported simultaneously by said terminal, wherein types of the stream transmission channels are predefined and depend on a service to be done by the multimedia communication session, the type of each stream transmission channel defining a type of data conveyed in the stream transmission channel and defining if the multimedia stream is unidirectional or bidirectional, and has determined a graph representing entities of a group of entities and links between entities to set up the multimedia communications session, said group comprising the terminals of the plurality and, depending on the capacity data, the communication device,

each link interconnecting directly two entities representing a stream transmission channel of the predefined type to be set up between said entities,

each terminal of the plurality being linked to each other terminal of the plurality either directly or via at least another entity of the group,

the number of entities linked to each terminal of the plurality of terminals depending respectively of said number of stream transmission channels supported by said terminal, and

for each link interconnecting directly two entities, determining a first entity and a second entity from among the two entities; and

accessing the multimedia communications session by setting-up at least one stream transmission channel of the multimedia communications session directly with said at least one respective second entity for which said at least one identifier has been received.

10. The access method according to claim 9, wherein the setting-up act is followed, after obtaining at least one multimedia stream, by an act of transmitting said at least one obtained multimedia stream over at least one of the set-up stream transmission channels, an obtained multimedia stream being a stream coming from a stream pick-up device connected to said terminal or a stream received from an entity of said group.

11. The access method according to claim 9, wherein said number of stream transmission channels includes at least two channels involving said terminal and wherein a multimedia stream transmitted over a first channel is a stream obtained by aggregating at least one stream obtained via at least one second channel with a stream received from a stream pick-up device connected to said terminal.

12. The access method according to claim 9, wherein said number of stream transmission channels includes at least three channels involving said terminal and wherein the stream transmitted over one of said at least three channels is a stream obtained by aggregating streams obtained via the other channels.

13. A server, wherein the server comprises:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the processor configure the server to initialize a multimedia communications session between a plurality of at least three terminals, said communications session involving multimedia streams exchanged between said terminals either bypassing or through a communications device, each terminal of the plurality and the communication device being able to communicate with the server via a network, the server initializing the communications session to support lightening a load on the communication device by performing acts comprising;

receiving for each terminal of the plurality a connection request, said connection request including capacity data for the terminal, said capacity data relating to capacity of the terminal to process incoming or outgoing stream transmission channels simultaneously;

obtaining for each terminal of the plurality, as function of the capacity data received, a number of stream transmission channels supported simultaneously by said terminal, wherein types of the stream transmission channels are predefined and depend on a service to be done by the multimedia communication session, the type of each stream transmission channel defining a type of data conveyed in the stream transmission channel and defining if the multimedia stream is unidirectional stream or bidirectional;

determining a graph representing entities of a group of entities and links between entities to set up the multimedia communications session, said group comprising the terminals of the plurality and not comprising the server,

each link interconnecting directly two entities representing a stream transmission channel of the predefined type to be set up between said entities,

each terminal of the plurality being linked to each other terminal of the plurality either directly or via at least another entity of the group,

the number of entities linked to each terminal of the plurality of terminals depending respectively of said number of stream transmission channels supported by said terminal, and

for each link interconnecting directly two entities, determining a first entity and a second entity from among the two entities; and

initializing the multimedia communications session by transmitting at least one entity identifier of at least one determined second entity to at least one said respective first entity of said group for setting up at least one stream transmission channel of the multimedia communications session represented by a link of said graph.

14. A terminal, which comprises:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the processor configure the terminal to perform a method of accessing a multimedia communications session between a plurality of at least three terminals, said communications session involving multimedia streams exchanged between said terminals either bypassing or through a communications device, each terminal of the plurality and the communication device being able to communicate with a server via a network, wherein the method comprises the following acts performed by the terminal to support lightening a load on the communication device;

receiving at least one identifier of at least one second entity with which at least one stream transmission channel is to be set up, the at least one identifier being received from a server, which has received for each terminal of the plurality of terminals a connection request comprising capacity data for the terminal, said capacity data relating to capacity of the terminal to process incoming or outgoing stream transmission channels simultaneously, has obtained for each terminal of the plurality, as function of the capacity data received, a number of stream transmission channels supported simultaneously by said terminal, wherein types of the stream transmission channels are predefined and depend on a service to be done by the multimedia communication session, the type of each stream transmission channel defining a type of data conveyed in the stream transmission channel and defining if the multimedia stream is unidirectional or bidirectional, and has determined a graph representing entities of a group of entities and links between entities to set up the multimedia communications session, said group comprising the terminals of the plurality and, depending on the capacity data, the communication device,

each link interconnecting directly two entities representing a stream transmission channel of the predefined type to be set up between said entities,

each terminal of the plurality being linked to each other terminal of the plurality either directly or via at least another entity of the group,

the number of entities linked to each terminal of the plurality of terminals depending respectively of said number of stream transmission channels supported by said terminal, and

for each link interconnecting directly two entities, determining a first entity and a second entity from among the two entities; and

accessing the multimedia communications session by setting-up at least one stream transmission channel of the multimedia communications session directly with said at least one respective second entity for which said at least one identifier has been received.