Adaptive method of floor control with fast response time and fairness in communication network

• US 20080159177A1
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Chu, Thomas P., Balachandran, Krishna, Kang, Joseph H.
• Granted Patent: US 7,873,067 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/260
• 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: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services

Abstract

In a floor control system for a network, a floor control server controls a floor-based application for communications between multiple participant terminals. The server carries out a floor determination process that includes an adaptive waiting function. Upon receiving an initial floor request message, the server waits for additional requests before determining the floor winner. The wait time is a function of the floor request load. When the system is lightly loaded, the wait time is generally small. For heavier request loads, the wait time is generally longer, to ensure that a reasonable number of requests are received before awarding the floor. The wait time may be limited by a maximum wait time, which is a function of the floor request load. If a designated number of floor requests is received before the maximum wait time expires, a temporary floor winner is granted the floor if its priority is sufficiently high.

Claims

1. A method of floor control in a communication network, said method comprising the steps of:

subsequent to receiving a first floor request during a floor request round, waiting a time period before determining a floor winner for the floor request round;

wherein the length of the time period is based at least in part on a floor request load.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a maximum wait time based on the floor request load, wherein the time period for waiting is no longer than the maximum wait time.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the time period is a function of:

(i) the maximum wait time;

(ii) a designated minimum number of received floor requests; and

(iii) a designated minimum communication priority level.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

determining a floor winner from among the received floor requests, said floor winner having a priority level,

wherein, if said priority level is at least the minimum communication priority level, the time period for waiting is terminated when a designated minimum number of floor requests is received.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein:

each of a plurality of floor requests received during the floor request round includes a preference parameter, said floor requests being received from a plurality of terminals;

the preference parameters relate to the number of times the terminals respectively associated therewith have lost floor determinations in prior floor request rounds; and

the floor winner is determined based at least in part on the preference parameters.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a maximum wait time based on the floor request load;

if a number of received floor requests rises above a designated level before expiration of the maximum wait time, determining a temporary floor winner substantially immediately; and

granting the floor to the temporary floor winner if a communication priority associated with the temporary floor winner is at least a minimum priority level.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

determining the minimum priority level based at least in part on the number of received floor requests.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the minimum priority level decreases as the number of received floor requests increases.

9. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

granting the floor to the temporary floor winner if the communication priority associated with the temporary floor winner is an emergency communication priority in the network.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein the designated received floor request level is either (i) a fixed value or (ii) a variable whose value is determined in each floor request round based on a number of floor requests received in a previous floor request round.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a maximum wait time based on the floor request load;

prior to expiration of the maximum wait time, determining if one or more received floor requests meet at least one speed-up criterion; and

, if so,

determining the floor winner substantially immediately.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the speed-up criterion relates to at least one of (i) a user identity associated with one of said one or more received floor requests and (ii) a variable priority threshold value.

13. A method of floor control in a communication network, said method comprising the steps of:

in each of a plurality of floor request rounds, subsequent to receiving a first floor request during the floor request round, waiting a time period before determining a floor winner for the floor request round;

wherein the length of the time period is variable from round to round, said time period length in each round being based at least in part on the floor request load during the round.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising, in each round:

determining a maximum wait time based on the floor request load, wherein the time period for the round is a function of;

(i) the maximum wait time;

(ii) a designated minimum number of received floor requests; and

(iii) a designated minimum communication priority level.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein, in each round:

each of a plurality of floor requests received during the floor request round includes a preference parameter, said floor requests being received from a plurality of terminals;

the preference parameters relate to the number of times the terminals respectively associated therewith have lost floor determinations in prior floor request rounds; and

the floor winner is determined based at least in part on the preference parameters.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising, in each round:

determining a maximum wait time based on the floor request load;

tracking the number of floor requests received during the floor request round;

if the number of received floor requests rises above a designated level before expiration of the maximum wait time, determining a temporary floor winner; and

granting the temporary floor winner the floor if a communication priority associated with the temporary floor winner is at least a designated minimum priority level.

17. A method of floor control in a communication network, said method comprising the steps of:

subsequent to receipt of a first floor request during a floor request round, determining a maximum wait period as a function of a floor request load; and

determining a floor winner for the floor request round no later than upon expiration of the maximum wait period.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein:

each of a plurality of floor requests received during the floor request round includes a preference parameter, said floor requests being received from a plurality of terminals;

the preference parameters relate to the number of times the terminals respectively associated therewith have lost floor determinations in prior floor request rounds; and

the floor winner is determined based at least in part on the preference parameters.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

tracking the number of floor requests received during the floor request round;

if the number of received floor requests rises above a designated level before expiration of the maximum wait period, determining a temporary floor winner; and

granting the temporary floor winner the floor substantially immediately if a communication priority associated with the temporary floor winner is at least a designated minimum priority level.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein an actual wait time prior to determining the floor winner is a function of:

(i) the maximum wait period;

(ii) a designated minimum number of received floor requests; and

(iii) a designated minimum communication priority level.