CN101312552B - Multimedia multicast service forwarding method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for forwarding a multimedia multicast service, which may include the following steps: when a multicast user subscribes to a multicast service, add in order information indicating that at least one ordered multicast service is selectively forwarded Forwarding information to at least one forwarding user; the broadcast/multicast center records the forwarding information; and when the broadcast/multicast center sends a service announcement, it queries the subscription information of the multicast user to determine whether there is forwarding information in the subscription information information, and when it is judged that there is forwarding information, a service notification is sent to the forwarding user. Therefore, through the method of the present invention, better services can be provided to multicast users, and for operators, new multicast forwarding services can be provided, and in addition, through the experience of forwarding users on multimedia multicast services, these Users will also purchase multimedia multicast services in the future.

Description

Method for multimedia multicast service forwarding

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of multimedia broadcast multicast, more specifically, relates to a method for realizing forwarding of multimedia multicast service when performing MBMS mobile multimedia multicast service.

Background technique

Multimedia broadcast/multicast (MBMS) implements a point-to-multipoint service in which one data source sends data to multiple terminals. MBMS can not only realize plain text low-rate message multicast and broadcast, but also realize multicast and broadcast of high-speed multimedia services. MBMS is based on WCDMA/TD-SCDMA/GSM (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access/Time Division-Code Division Multiple Access/Global System for Mobile Communications) packet network, by adding some new functional entities, for example, broadcast multicast service center BM-SC, to existing packet domain functional entities, such as Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN ), gateway GPRS support node (GGSN), radio network controller (RNC) and terminal (UE) add MBMS function, and define a new logical shared channel to realize air interface resource sharing.

The network reference model of MBMS is shown in Figure 1.

As shown in Figure 1, the Broadcast/Multicast Center (BM-SC) is connected to the Gateway General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node GGSN through the Gmb interface and the Gi interface. One BM-SC can be connected to multiple GGSNs, and the GGSN It is connected to the serving GRPS node SSGN through the Gn/Gp interface. A GGSN can be connected to multiple SGSNs. The SGSN can be connected to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) through the Iu interface. The mobile terminal is connected, and the SGSN can also be connected with the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Enhanced Radio Access Network (GERAN) through the Iu/Gb interface, and the GERAN is connected with the mobile terminal through the Um interface.

In the prior art, the process for a terminal to receive a multicast service is as follows:

1. The terminal subscription process (Subscription), which is used for the terminal to subscribe to the multicast service and establish the relationship between the terminal and the service provider;

2. The service notification process (Announcement), which is used to notify the terminal of the services that the service provider can provide, as well as other service-related information;

3. The terminal joining process (Joining), which is used for the terminal to request the service network to join the multicast group;

Fourth, the session start process (Session Start), used for BM-SC to prepare to send data;

5. Notification process (Notification), which is used for the RNC to notify the terminal that the MBMS multicast starts immediately;

6. Data transfer process (Data transfer), which is the process of terminal multimedia data transmission;

Seven, the session end process (Session Stop), used for the BM-SC to indicate the end of the session and release the bearer resources; and

8. Leaving process (Leaving), which is a process in which the terminal leaves the multicast group without preparing to receive the multimedia broadcast.

The existing multimedia multicast service does not have a solution for forwarding. For subscribed users, especially paid users, if there is no free time to receive multimedia multicast services for a period of time, but they want their friends or relatives to use and share its services, at this time, it is necessary to directly forward the multimedia multicast to others. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a method for forwarding multimedia multicast services to realize forwarding.

Contents of the invention

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method for forwarding multimedia multicast services, which does not forward the multicast services to other users for users who have received the multicast services, but multicast users Inform the BM-SC that the multicast service for him needs to be forwarded to other users. When realizing the multicast service, the notification message needs to be sent to the forwarding user, and the forwarding user is allowed to join the multicast group, and the forwarding user joining the multicast group can receive the multicast service.

The present invention provides a method for forwarding a multimedia multicast service, which may include the following steps: when a multicast user subscribes to a multicast service, add in the order information indicating that at least one ordered multicast service is selectively forwarded Forwarding information to at least one forwarding user; the broadcast/multicast center records the forwarding information; and when the broadcast/multicast center sends a service announcement, it queries the subscription information of the multicast user to determine whether there is forwarding information in the subscription information information, and when it is judged that there is forwarding information, a service notification is sent to the forwarding user.

After sending the service announcement to the forwarding user, the following steps are further included: judging whether to send the announcement to the original multicast subscriber; and sending the announcement to the multicast user when the announcement needs to be sent to the original multicast subscriber.

Further, the method for multimedia multicast service forwarding further includes the following steps: the broadcast/multicast center sends a charging request message to the charging system, wherein the charging request message includes information of the multicast user and the forwarding user.

Wherein, the multicast user adds or cancels forwarding through any of the following methods: sending short messages, hypertext transfer protocol HTTP, wireless application protocol WAP, and customer service.

In addition, the method for forwarding the multimedia multicast service further includes the following steps: when the broadcast/multicast center receives the join request message sent by the user, it inquires whether the user is a subscriber of the multicast service; if the user does not subscribe to the multicast service, , it is judged whether the user is a forwarding user of other multicast users; and if the judgment result is a forwarding user, no further forwarding is performed on it.

Wherein, the forwarding information shown may include at least one of the following: forwarding user address, forwarding time, forwarded multicast service, and rules for canceling forwarding.

Further, the rules for canceling the forwarding of the multimedia multicast service also include the following three types: when the forwarding time is up, the forwarding is automatically canceled; , customer service, etc.) cancel the forwarding, or cancel the forwarding of the service according to the Joining request sent by the original subscriber within the service forwarding time range.

When a multicast user subscribes to multiple multicast services, the multiple multicast services are forwarded to the same or different forwarding users.

Therefore, through the method of the present invention, better service can be provided to multicast users. For operators, it can provide multicast forwarding new services, and through forwarding users' experience of multimedia multicast services, attract these users to purchase multimedia multicast services in the future.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

Description of drawings

The accompanying drawings described here are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of the application. The schematic embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute improper limitations to the present invention. In the attached picture:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an MBMS network structure in the prior art;

Fig. 2 is the flow chart of the method for multimedia multicast service forwarding according to the present invention;

Fig. 3 is the flow chart of BM-SC external order process of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is the flow chart of the BM-SC of the present invention to user information dissemination process; And

Fig. 5 is a flow chart of the improvement of the BM-SC of the present invention to the user joining process.

Detailed ways

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the preferred embodiments described here are only used to illustrate and explain the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

When the present invention provides service acceptance information externally through the BM-SC, it can provide multicast users with service forwarding acceptance, and users can sign up for forwarding services by sending short messages, HTTP, WAP, customer service, and the like. SMS, HTTP, WAP, customer service and other systems are all connected to the BM-SC business acceptance service system to complete business acceptance. BM-SC makes some changes to the internal processing of Service Announcement and Joining, and adds forwarding users to the interface of sending charging requests to OCS (online charging system) and CDF (charging data functional entity) Information, through these aspects to realize the support for multimedia multicast service forwarding. Through this method, the forwarding of the multicast service is realized, so that for a subscribed user, especially a paid user, if he is not free to receive the multimedia multicast service for a period of time, but he wants his friends or relatives to When using and sharing his business, he can directly forward the multimedia multicast to others.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method for forwarding multimedia multicast services according to the present invention. As shown in Figure 2, the method for forwarding the multimedia multicast service may include the following steps:

Step S202, when the multicast user subscribes to the multicast service, adding forwarding information indicating that at least one multicast service subscribed to is selectively forwarded to at least one forwarding user;

Step S204, the broadcast/multicast center records forwarding information; and

Step S206, the broadcast/multicast center queries the subscription information of the multicast user when sending the service announcement, judges whether there is forwarding information in the subscription information, and sends the service to the forwarding user when the judgment result is that there is forwarding information notice.

After sending the service announcement to the forwarding user, the following steps may also be included: judging whether to send the announcement to the original multicast subscriber; and sending the announcement to the multicast user when the announcement needs to be sent to the original multicast subscriber.

Further, the method for multimedia multicast service forwarding may further include the following steps: the broadcast/multicast center sends a charging request message to the charging system, wherein the charging request message includes information of the multicast user and the forwarding user.

Multicast users add or cancel forwarding by any of the following methods: sending SMS, HTTP, WAP, and customer service.

In addition, the method for forwarding the multimedia multicast service further includes the following steps: when the broadcast/multicast center receives the join request message sent by the user, it inquires whether the user is a subscriber of the multicast service; if the user does not subscribe to the multicast service, , then judge whether the user is a forwarding user of other multicast users; and if the judgment result is a forwarding user, cancel the forwarding to the user.

Wherein, the forwarding information shown may include at least one of the following: forwarding user address, forwarding time, forwarded multicast service, and rules for canceling forwarding.

Further, the strategy for canceling the forwarding of the multimedia multicast service also includes the following three types: when the forwarding time is up, the forwarding is automatically canceled; , customer service, etc.) cancel the forwarding or cancel the forwarding of the service according to the original subscriber sending a Joining request within the service forwarding time range.

When a multicast user subscribes to multiple multicast services, the multiple multicast services are forwarded to the same or different forwarding users.

It can be seen from the above that the present invention does not modify the multicast service flow between the UE and the user. It only needs some cooperation and modification between the multicast user and the BM-SC. OCS and CDF add forwarding user information to realize multimedia group broadcasting. Forwarding of broadcast services. When the BM-SC provides a multicast service contract externally, it can provide users with the choice of forwarding the multicast service. The forwarding information includes forwarding user information, forwarding time, forwarded service, and forwarding cancellation policy. In order for the forwarding user to know which multicast services are available and the timetable of each multicast service, the BM-SC needs to send the Service Announcement to the forwarding user. In addition, the user who originally ordered the service but has forwarded it may also want to get the service passing information, so the BM-SC provides whether to send the service notification information to the original user who subscribed the service. For forwarding users, if they need to receive multimedia multicast services, they need to join the multicast service group. After receiving the joining request sent by the forwarding user, the BM-SC will query the associated multicast subscribers. If the forwarding user does not subscribe If the multicast service is forwarded to him by other managed contracted multicast users, the joining is successful, and the multicast service can be received in the subsequent process. In order to identify whether the service is forwarded, when the BM-SC sends the charging request message to the OCS and CDF, if it is a forwarded multicast service, it needs to carry the forwarded user ID.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart of the BM-SC external ordering process of the present invention. As shown in Figure 3, the specific improvement process is as follows:

Step S302, BM-SC receives order requests for various services, and orders through text messages, by providing WEB pages provided by BM-SC, etc., where the order request can be to purchase services, or to modify order information at any time, or in the After ordering, initiate a request to forward the order service, and BM-SC records the user's order information;

Step S304, the BM-SC judges whether the subscription information of the user forwards the service;

Step S306, if the user who ordered the service requires forwarding, the BM-SC adds the forwarding information of the ordering service in addition to the original ordering service information in the user's ordering information, and the forwarding information includes the service identification and the forwarding number , forwarding time, and rules for canceling forwarding, etc.; and

Step S308, the BM-SC finishes processing the order request information, and initiates an order response, wherein, if the system needs to send an order confirmation message to the user who subscribes to the service, the service order confirmation needs to be initiated.

It should be understood that there are three ways of service notification, the first is broadcasting, such as multimedia broadcasting, cell broadcasting SMS, the second is multicasting, and the third is point-to-point, such as SMS. For the broadcast mode, the BM-SC has no changes to the service notification.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart of the BM-SC publishing process of user information in the present invention. As shown in Figure 4, the following steps are included:

Step S402, when the BM-SC needs to perform a service announcement, it needs to determine whether to only send the service announcement to the user with the multicast authority;

Step S406, if the service notification is not aimed at the multicast users who subscribe to the service, the service notification can be sent in a broadcasting manner, and the broadcasting method can be multimedia broadcasting or cell broadcasting;

Step S406, if the service announcement is only sent to users with multicast service authority, the BM-SC queries the user subscription information table of the multicast user who needs to be notified;

Step S408, according to the user subscription information obtained from the query, determine whether the user has signed a forwarding contract;

Step S410, in the case of the forwarding service subscribed by the user, send a service announcement to the user;

Step S412, judging according to the subscription information table whether the forwarded user needs to send a service announcement; and

Step S414, if the judgment result of step S412 is that the service notice needs to be sent, send the service notice to the original subscriber, and send the service notice to the original subscriber if the user has not subscribed for forwarding.

It should be understood that, in some cases, some users request to filter some service notifications, and it is determined whether to really send the service notifications according to the user subscription information.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart of the improvement of the BM-SC of the present invention to the user joining process. As shown in Figure 5, it specifically includes the following steps:

Step S502, the BM-SC receives the Joining request message sent from the user, and performs preliminary processing on the message;

Step S504, the BM-SC queries the user's subscription information according to the user's identifier;

Step S506, if the user has subscribed to the multicast service, it is judged whether the user is in forwarding;

Step S508, in the case that the user has not subscribed to the multicast service, it is judged whether the user has other users who forward the multicast service to the user;

Step S510, if the judgment result of step S508 is that there are other users who have forwarded the service to this user, then the forwarding success is sent to the user, or there is no forwarding in step S506, or if S512 selects Yes, then the user is sent Send Joining successfully;

Step S512, judging whether the original multicast subscriber has selected to cancel forwarding as long as the original multicast subscriber sends Joining in the cancellation strategy selection; and

In step S514, if step S512 chooses No, a response message of the user's Joining failure is also sent to the user.

In summary, through the multimedia multicast service forwarding method of the present invention, better service can be provided to multicast users, and for operators, new multicast forwarding services can be provided, and in addition, through forwarding users to The experience of multimedia multicast services will attract these users to purchase multimedia multicast services in the future.

The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention may have various modifications and changes. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

1. the method for a multimedia multicast service forwarding is characterized in that, may further comprise the steps:

The multicast user adds in ordering information and represents that at least one multicast service that will order selectively before forwards the Redirection Information of at least one forwarding subscriber to when ordering multicast service;

MBMS center writes down described Redirection Information; And

Described MBMS center is when sending service announcement, inquire about described multicast user's described ordering information, whether judgement has described Redirection Information in described ordering information, and in judged result when having described Redirection Information, send described service announcement to described forwarding subscriber;

Described MBMS center is joining request during message of receiving that the user sends, and whether inquire about described user is the contracted user of multicast service;

If the not signatory described multicast service of described user judges then whether described user is other multicast users' forwarding subscriber; And

If judged result is then cancelled the preceding commentaries on classics to described user for being described forwarding subscriber.

2. method according to claim 1 is characterized in that, and is after described forwarding subscriber sends described service announcement, further comprising the steps of:

Judge whether and to send service announcement to described multicast user; And

When described multicast user sends service announcement, send service announcement at needs to described multicast user.

3. method according to claim 1 and 2 is characterized in that, and is further comprising the steps of:

Described MBMS center sends charging request message to charge system, and wherein, described charging request message comprises the information of described multicast user and described forwarding subscriber.

4. method according to claim 1 and 2 is characterized in that, described multicast user changes before adding or cancel by following any mode: send note, hypertext transmission communication agreement and customer service.

5. method according to claim 3 is characterized in that, described multicast user changes before adding or cancel by following any mode: send note, hypertext transmission communication agreement and customer service.

6. method according to claim 1 is characterized in that, shown in Redirection Information comprise following at least a: forwarding subscriber address, the rule of changeing before the multicast service of preceding commentaries on classics time, preceding commentaries on classics and the cancellation.

7. method according to claim 6 is characterized in that, the rule of changeing before described comprise following any:

The commentaries on classics time then changes before the cancellation automatically before described;

The preceding commentaries on classics time according to described multicast user's requirement, changes before the cancellation when being less than; And

Change joining request of sending in the time range according to described multicast user before professional, cancellation is to the preceding commentaries on classics of described business.

8. method according to claim 6 is characterized in that, when described multicast user had contracted a plurality of multicast service, a plurality of described multicast services before were given to identical or different forwarding subscriber respectively.

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