KR101651025B1 - In-band signaling to indicate end of data stream and update user context - Google Patents

Abstract

The disclosure is directed to detecting or indicating the end of a data stream (507; 607; 617) using in-band signaling. An embodiment includes transmitting (710; 720; 860) the data stream, wherein the data stream includes a plurality of packets, each packet of the plurality of packets including a header and a payload having a marker bit field (714; 850) a marker bit field and / or a payload of at least one of the plurality of packets to indicate the end of the data stream, the payload comprising a plurality of packets Decreasing the amount of data contained in the payload from the payloads of the other of the packets, and / or setting a field in the payload indicating a countdown to the last packet of the data stream. One embodiment receives (732; 810) a data stream and detects (734; 744; 820) that at least one of the data packets is configured to indicate termination of the data stream.

Description

{IN-BAND SIGNALING TO INDICATE END OF DATA STREAM AND UPDATE USER CONTENT} that indicates the end of the data stream and updates the user context.

1. 35 U.S.C. Claiming priority under 119

This patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 ("U.S.") filed on August 26, 2011 entitled " IN-BAND SIGNALING TO INDICATE END DATA STREAM AND UPDATE USER CONTEXT & / 527,968 as priority.

2. Related field

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to in-band signaling that indicates the end of an incoming data stream during a real-time or near-real-time and user context update.

Wireless communication systems have evolved over several generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including intermediate 2.5G and 2.75G networks) Generation (3G) high speed data / Internet enabled wireless services. Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are being used, including cellular and Personal Communications Service (PCS) systems. Embodiments of the known cellular systems are well known in the art, including Cellular AMPS (Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access), TDMA Mobile access) variants, and digital hybrid cellular systems based on new hybrid digital communication systems that use both TDMA and CDMA technologies.

A method for providing CDMA mobile communications is described in TIA / EIA / IS-95-A (referred to herein as IS-95) by the Telecommunications Industry Association / EIA (Electronic Industries Association) Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System ". Combined AMPS & CDMA systems are described in TIA / EIA Standard IS-98. Other communication systems include IMT-2000 / UM, or International Mobile Telecommunications System (IMTS), a standard encompassing what are referred to as Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), CDMA2000 (e.g., CDMA2000 1xEV- 2000 / UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System).

In W-CDMA wireless communication systems, user equipments (UEs) have a fixed position of Node Bs (cell sites) that support communications links or services in certain geographic areas adjacent to or surrounding base stations Also referred to as cells or cells). The Node Bs are typically packet data networks, such as an access network (AN) / radio access < RTI ID = 0.0 > And provides entry points to the network (RAN). Thus, the Node Bs typically interact with the UEs via OTA (Over The Air) and interact with the RAN through IP (Internet Protocol) network data packets.

In wireless communication systems, push-to-talk (PTT) capabilities are becoming more popular with the service sector and customers. PTT may support "dispatch" voice services running on commercial standard wireless infrastructures such as W-CDMA, CDMA, FDMA, TDMA, In the dispatch model, communication between endpoints (e.g., UEs) occurs within virtual groups, and the voice of one "talker" is transmitted to one or more "listeners". A single instance of this type of communication is commonly referred to as a dispatch call, or simply a PTT call. The PTT call is an instantiation of the group, which instantiates the characteristics of the call. In essence, a group is defined by a member list, and associated information, such as group name or group identification information.

Receiving one or more incoming data streams (e.g., audio, video, etc.) requires updating the user context at the end of the data stream. Some applications may have real-time requirements (e.g., minimum latency) for user context update, and therefore these applications require precise, instantaneous recognition of when data streams end. Typically, the end of the data stream may be deduced after a period of inactivity of the traffic or may be represented expressively through the use of out-of-band signaling (e.g. via an "END" signal). In general, out-of-band signaling can be delayed and complex to implement. Also, relying on out-of-band signaling to indicate the end of the data stream may leave a gap in time if the END signal arrives too early or too late, which may cause the END signal to arrive too early (For example, if the END signal arrives late and RTP packets stop reaching, but there is no user context update), allowing the stream to continue in a "starved mode" .

In addition, the use of inactivity timers involves updating the user context after a critical period in which streaming packets associated with the data stream are not received. It may be difficult to deduce the termination of a session based on an inactivity timer because an inactivity timer must accommodate a temporary network outage as well as an actual stream termination and a single timer value is not likely to fit for both scenarios.

One embodiment of the disclosure is directed to indicating the end of a data stream using in-band signaling. One embodiment is directed to transmitting a data stream, wherein the data stream comprises a plurality of packets, each packet of the plurality of packets comprising a header and payload having a marker bit field, Configuring a payload of a payload from the payloads of other packets of the plurality of packets, wherein the payload comprises at least one of a plurality of packets, And / or setting the field in the payload to indicate the cut-down to the last packet of the data stream.

One embodiment of the disclosure is directed to detecting the end of a stream of data using in-band signaling. One embodiment is a method for receiving a data stream, the data stream comprising a plurality of packets, each packet of a plurality of packets comprising a header and payload having a marker bit field, Wherein at least one of the packets is configured to indicate the end of the data stream, wherein detecting is configured such that the marker bit field of the at least one packet indicates the end of the data stream, Detecting that the payload of at least one of the plurality of packets includes a lesser amount of data than the payloads of the other packets and / or the payload of the at least one packet includes a field indicating a cut-down to the last packet of the data stream.

Further scope of applicability of the above-described methods and apparatus will become apparent from the following detailed description, claims and drawings. It should be understood that although the description and specific examples have been given to illustrate specific examples and claims of this disclosure, it should be understood that these are merely illustrative examples, and that various changes and modifications within the scope and range of detailed description are apparent to those skilled in the art It is only given.

A more complete understanding of the embodiments of the invention and the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, provided for illustrative purposes, It will lose.
1 is a diagram of a wireless network architecture supporting access terminals and access networks in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2a illustrates the core network of Figure 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2B illustrates the core network of Figure 1 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
2C illustrates an embodiment of the wireless communication system of FIG. 1 in greater detail.
3 is an illustration of an access terminal in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an illustration of in-band signaling indicating the end of an incoming data stream in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention.
5 is an illustration of typical out-of-band signaling indicating the end of the incoming data stream.
6 illustrates an example of in-band signaling with two incoming streams in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention.
Figures 7A and 7B show examples of in-band signaling in which the server detects marker bits.
8 shows an example of generating in-band signaling at the server when media termination / voice release is detected.
Figure 9 shows a communication device comprising logic configured to perform a function.

Aspects of the present invention are set forth in the following description and the associated drawings, which are pointed out for specific embodiments. Other embodiments may be devised without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, the known elements of the present invention will not be described in detail or will not be described in detail so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present invention.

The word " exemplary "and / or" embodiment "is used herein to mean" functioning as an embodiment, example, or illustration. &Quot; Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" and / or "an embodiment" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or more advantageous over other embodiments. Likewise, the terminology "embodiments of the present invention" does not require that all the embodiments include the features, advantages or modes of operation discussed.

In addition, many embodiments are described by a series of actions to be performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuits (e.g., ASICs, by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both) It will also be appreciated that the sequence of actions described herein may be implemented in any form of computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a corresponding set of computer instructions for causing a related processor to perform the functions described herein, It is to be understood that the various aspects of these embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and all are within the scope of the claimed subject matter. For each of the embodiments described, a corresponding form of any of these embodiments may include, for example, , Performing the action described as "logic configured to" may be described herein.

A High Data Rate (HDR) subscriber station, referred to herein as User Equipment (UE), may be mobile or stationary and may communicate with one or more access points (APs), which may also be referred to as Node Bs. The UE transmits and receives data packets with a Radio Network Controller (RNC) through one or more Node Bs. The Node Bs and the RNC are part of a network referred to as a RAN (radio access network). The RAN may transmit voice and data packets between a plurality of access terminals.

The RAN may be further connected to additional networks outside the RAN and may transmit voice and data packets between each UE and these networks, such as a corporate intranet, the Internet, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) ), A Serving General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN), a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN), and specific carrier-related servers and devices. A UE that has established an active traffic channel connection with one or more Node Bs may be referred to as an active UE and may be referred to as being in a traffic state. A UE in the process of establishing an active traffic channel (TCH) with one or more Node Bs may be referred to as being in a connection establishment state. The UE may be any data device that communicates over a wireless channel or through a wired channel. The UE may also be any of a number of types of devices including, but not limited to, PC cards, compact flash devices, external or internal modems, or wireless or wireline telephones. The communication link through which the UE sends signals to the Node B (s) is referred to as an uplink channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the Node B (s) transmit signals to the UE is referred to as a downlink channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may be referred to as either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

1 illustrates a block diagram of one exemplary embodiment of a wireless communication system 100 in accordance with at least one embodiment. System 100 provides data connectivity between UEs 102, 108, 110 and 112 and a packet switched data network (e.g., intranet, internet, and / or core network 126) Such as a cellular telephone 102, that communicates over an air interface 104 with an access network or radio access network (RAN) 120 that can connect the access terminal 102 to a network facility . As indicated herein, a UE may be a cellular telephone 102, a PDA 108, a pager 110 shown here as a bi-directional text pager, or a separate computer platform 112 having a wireless communication portal. Accordingly, various embodiments may be implemented in any type of access terminal that includes a wireless communication portal or has wireless communication capabilities, such as wireless modems, PCMCIA cards, personal computers, telephones, or combinations thereof Or partial combinations thereof. Also, as used herein, the term "UE" in other communication protocols (ie, communication protocols other than W-CDMA) refers to an "access terminal", "AT", "wireless device" , "Mobile terminal "," mobile station "and their variants.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the interrelation of the elements of the exemplary embodiments and the components of the wireless communication system 100 are not limited to the illustrated configurations. System 100 is merely illustrative and allows remote UEs, e.g., wireless client computing devices 102, 108, 110 and 112 to communicate wirelessly among one another and with each other and / or between RAN 120 and wireless Or any other device that is connected via the interface 104 and communicates between and / or between components, including but not limited to the core network 126, the Internet, the PSTN, the SGSN, the GGSN, and / Lt; / RTI >

The RAN 120 controls messages (usually transmitted as data packets) sent to the RNC 122. RNC 122 is responsible for signaling to bearer channels (i. E., Data channels), bearer channels (i. E., Data channels) between UEs 102/108/110/112 and Serving General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) , Data channels), and tearing down bearer channels (i.e., data channels). If link layer encryption is enabled, the RNC 122 also encrypts the content before forwarding it over the air interface 104. [ The functionality of the RNC 122 is well known in the art and will not be discussed further for the sake of simplicity. The core network 126 may communicate with the RNC 122 by a network, the Internet, and / or the PSTN. Alternatively, the RNC 122 may be directly connected to the Internet or an external network. Typically, the network or Internet connection between the core network 126 and the RNC 122 transmits data and the PSTN transmits voice information. The RNC 122 may be connected to a plurality of Node Bs 124. In a manner similar to the core network 126, the RNC 122 is typically connected to the Node Bs 124 by a network, the Internet, and / or the PSTN for data transmission and / or voice information. Node Bs 124 may wirelessly broadcast data messages to UEs, e.g., cellular telephone 102. [ Node Bs 124, RNC 122, and other components may form RAN 120, as is known in the art. However, alternative configurations may be used and the various embodiments are not limited to the illustrated configurations. For example, in other embodiments, the functionality of one or more Node Bs 124 and RNC 122 is a single "hybrid" module with the functionality of both RNC 122 and Node B May be integrated.

2A illustrates a core network 126 in accordance with one embodiment. In particular, FIG. 2A illustrates components of a General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) core network implemented within a W-CDMA system. In the embodiment of FIG. 2A, the core network 126 includes a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 160, a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 165, and the Internet 175. However, it should be appreciated that other components and / or portions of the Internet 175 may be located outside the core network in alternative embodiments.

Generally, GPRS is a protocol used by Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) telephones to transmit Internet Protocol (IP) packets. The GPRS core network (e.g., GGSN 165 and one or more SGSNs 160) is a centralized part of the GPRS system and also provides support for 3G networks based on W-CDMA. The GPRS core network is an integral part of the GSM core network and provides transport, mobility management, and session management for IP packet services in GSM and W-CDMA networks.

The GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) is an IP definition protocol of the GPRS core network. GTP is a protocol that allows end users (e.g., access terminals) of a GSM or W-CDMA network to move back and forth while still maintaining a connection to the Internet as if it were in one location of the GGSN 165. This is accomplished by sending the subscriber's data to the GGSN 165, which is handling the subscriber's session at the subscriber's current SGSN 160.

Three forms of GTP are used by the GPRS core network; That is, (i) GTP-U, (ii) GTP-C and (iii) GTP '(GTP prime). The GTP-U is used for the transmission of user data in separate tunnels for each Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context. The GTP-C can be used for control signaling (e.g., for setting and deleting PDP contexts, checking for GSN reachability, updates or changes such as when a subscriber moves from one SGSN to another, etc.) Is used. GTP 'is used to transfer the charging data from the GSNs to the charging function.

2A, the GGSN 165 acts as an interface between a GPRS backbone network (not shown) and an external packet data network 175. [ The GGSN 165 extracts packet data from the GPRS packets from the SGSN 160 by means of an associated Packet Data Protocol (PDP) format (e.g., IP or PPP) and transmits the packets to the corresponding packet data network do. In the opposite direction, the incoming data packets are directed by the GGSN 165 to the SGSN 160, which manages and controls the RAB (Radio Access Bearer) of the destination UE serviced by the RAN 120. Thereby, the GGSN 165 stores the current SGSN address of the target UE and its / her profile in the location register (e.g., in the PDP context). The GGSN is responsible for assigning IP addresses and is the default router for connected UEs. The GGSN also performs authentication and accounting functions.

The SGSN 160, in one embodiment, represents one of many SGSNs in the core network 126. Each SGSN is responsible for the delivery of data packets between UEs within the associated geographic service area. The tasks of SGSN 160 include packet routing and transmission, mobility management (e.g., connection / detach and location management), logical link management, and authentication and billing functions. The location register of the SGSN may include, for example, user profiles (e.g., IMSI, used in the packet data network) of all GPRS users registered through the SGSN 160 in one or more PDP contexts for each user or UE (E.g., PDP address (s)) and location information (e.g., current cell, current VLR). Thus, SGSNs are able to (i) detun downlink GTP packets from the GGSN 165, (ii) uplink tunnel IP packets destined for the GGSN 165, (iii) Performing mobility management, and (iv) billing mobile subscribers. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the SGSNs configured for GSM / EDGE networks as well as (i) through (iv) have slightly different functionality as compared to SGSNs configured for W-CDMA networks.

The RAN 120 (e.g., UTRAN in a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) system architecture) communicates with the SGSN 160 via a Radio Access Network Application Part (RANAP) protocol. RANAP operates through the Iu-ps (Iu interface) with a transport protocol such as Frame Relay or IP. The SGSN 160 communicates with the GGSN 165 via the Gn interface and the Gn interface is an IP-based interface between the SGSN 160 and other SGSNs (not shown) and the internal GGSNs, For example, GTP-U, GTP-C, GTP ', etc.). In the embodiment of FIG. 2A, the Gn between the SGSN 160 and the GGSN 165 carries both GTP-C and GTP-U. Although not shown in FIG. 2A, the Gn interface is also used by the Domain Name System (DNS). The GGSN 165 is connected to a Public Data Network (PDN) (not shown) and is either directly connected to the Internet 175 via the Gi interface with IP protocols or via the Internet (WAP) 175).

2B shows a core network 126 according to another embodiment. FIG. 2B is similar to FIG. 2A except that FIG. 2B represents an implementation of the direct tunneling function.

A direct tunnel is an operational capability in Iu mode that allows SGSN 160 to establish a user plane tunnel directly between the RAN and the GGSN within the Packet Switched (PS) domain. The direct tunnelable SGSN, e.g., the SGSN 160 in FIG. 2B, may be configured based on a GGSN unit (per GGSN) and an RNC unit (per RNC) whether the SGSN can directly use the user plane connection. The SGSN 160 in FIG. 2B processes the control plane signaling and makes a determination of when to establish the direct tunnel. U tunnel can communicate with the GGSN 165 and the SGSN 160 (i.e., the PDS context) in order to be able to process the downlink packets when the assigned RAB (Radio Bearer) for the PDP context is released Lt; / RTI >

An optional direct tunnel between the GGSN 165 and the SGSN 160 is defined as (i) roaming (for example, because the SGSN needs to know if the GGSN is in the same PLMN or in a different PLMN), (ii) ) SGSN has received CAMEL (Customized Applications for Mobile Enhanced Logic) subscription information in the subscriber profile from HLR (Home Location Register), and / or (iii) GGSN 165 does not support GTP protocol version 1 It is not normally allowed. For the CAMEL constraint, volume reporting from the SGSN 160 is not possible because the SGSN 160 no longer has the user plane visibility once a direct tunnel is established. Thus, the use of a direct tunnel is prohibited for subscribers with profiles containing CAMEL subscription information, because the CAMEL server can invoke volume reporting at any time during the lifetime of the PDP context.

SGSN 160 may operate in a Packet Mobility Management (PMM) -connected detach state, a PMM-idle state, or a PMM-connected state. In one example, the GTP-connections shown in Figure 2B for the direct tunnel function can be established, whereby the SGSN 160 is in the PMM-connected state and receives a request to establish an Iu connection from the UE. The SGSN 160 ensures that the new Iu connection and the existing Iu connection are for the same UE, and if so, the SGSN 160 processes the new request and releases the existing Iu and all associated RABs. In order to ensure that the new Iu connection and the existing Iu connection are for the same UE, the SGSN 160 may perform security functions. If the direct tunnel is established for the UE, the SGSN 160 sends a "Update PDP Context Request (s)" to the associated GGSN (s) 165, and if the Iu connection establishment request is signaling-only, the SGSN 160 ) And the GGSN (s) (165). The SGSN 160 may immediately establish a new direct tunnel and update the PDP context request (s) to the associated GGSN (s) 165, and if the Iu connection establishment request is for data transfer, A downlink tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) for the user plane, and an address of the RNC for the user plane.

Even if the routing area has not been changed since the last update, the UE can notify the UE of a Routing Area Update (RAU) immediately after entering the PMM-IDLE state when the UE receives the RRC Connection Release message due to & Perform the procedure. In one example, when the RNC can not contact the serving RNC to verify the UE due to the lack of an Iur connection (see, for example, TS 25.331 [52]), RRC connection release message. The UE performs the subsequent service request procedure after the successful completion of the RAU procedure to re-establish the radio access bearer when the UE has pending user data to transmit.

The PDP context is a data structure residing on both the SGSN 160 and the GGSN 165 and includes the communication session information of that particular UE when the particular UE has an active GPRS session. If the UE desires to initiate a GPRS communication session, the UE must first connect to the SGSN 160 and then activate the PDP context with the GGSN 165. This assigns the PDP context data structure to the SGSN 160 that the subscriber is currently visiting and the GGSN 165 that services the access point of the UE.

2C illustrates an embodiment of the wireless communication system 100 of FIG. 1 in greater detail. In particular, referring to FIG. 2C, UEs (UEs 1... N) are shown connected to RANs 120 of locations served by different packet data network endpoints. Although the example of FIG. 2C is specific to W-CDMA systems and terms, it will be appreciated how the FIG. 2C can be modified to comply with the 1x EV-DO system. Thus, the UEs (UEs 1 and 3) may be connected to the first packet data network end-point 162 (e.g., SGSN, GGSN, PDSN, home agent HA, foreign agent And is connected to the RAN 120 of the service receiving portion. The first packet data network endpoint 162 may then be accessed via the routing unit 188 via the Internet 175 and / or one or more authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) servers 182 A Provisioning Server 184, an Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) / Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Registration Server 186, and / or an Application Server 170. The UEs (UEs 2 and 5 ... N) are connected to the second packet data network end-point 164 (e.g., corresponding to SGSN, GGSN, PDSN, FA, RAN < / RTI > As with the first packet data network end-point 162, the second packet data network end-point 164 is connected to the Internet 175 and / or the AAA server 182 via the routing unit 188, The provisioning server 184, the IMS / SIP registration server 186, and / or the application server 170. UE 4 may be directly connected to the Internet 175 and then connected to any of the system components described above via the Internet 175. [

Referring to FIG. 2C, UEs (UEs 1, 3 and 5... N) are illustrated as wireless cell-phones, UE 2 is illustrated as a wireless tablet PC, and UE 4 is illustrated as a wired desktop station. However, in other embodiments, the wireless communication system 100 may be connected to any type of UE, and the embodiments illustrated in FIG. 2C are intended to define the types of UEs that may be implemented within the system You will know. Further, although each of AAA 182, provisioning server 184, IMS / SIP registration server 186 and application server 170 are illustrated as structurally separate servers, one or more of these servers may be combined in at least one embodiment .

2C, the application server 170 includes a plurality of media control complexes (MCCs) (MCC 1 ... N) 170B, and a plurality of local dispatchers RTI ID = 0.0 > N) 170A. ≪ / RTI > Collectively, the local dispatchers 170A and MCCs 170B are included within the application server 170, and in at least one embodiment, this is used for communication sessions in the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., IP Uni Casting and / or half-duplex group communication sessions over IP multicasting protocols). For example, theoretically, since communication sessions mediated by application server 170 may occur between UEs located anywhere in system 100, a plurality of local dispatchers 170A and MCCs (E.g., the MCC in North America will not relay media back-and-forth between session participants located in China) to reduce the latency for the mediated communication sessions. Thus, with reference to application server 170, it will be appreciated that related functionality may be implemented by one or more local dispatchers 170A and / or one or more MCCs 170B. The local dispatchers 170A are typically responsible for any functionality related to the establishment of a communication session (e.g., handling of signaling messages between UEs, scheduling and / or transmission of announcement messages, etc.) The MCCs 170B are responsible for hosting the communication session for the duration of the call instance, which includes performing the actual exchange of media during the Inc call signaling and the mediated communication session.

Referring to FIG. 3, a UE 200, (here a wireless device), e.g., a cellular telephone, is connected to the Internet by way of software applications, data and / or ultimately the core network 126, the Internet and / Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 202 < / RTI > The platform 202 may include a transceiver 206 operatively coupled to a custom semiconductor ("ASIC") 208, or other processor, microprocessor, logic circuit, or other data processing device. The ASIC 208 or other processor executes an application programming interface ("API") 210 layer that interfaces with any resident programs in the memory 212 of the wireless device. Memory 212 may be comprised of read-only or random access memory (RAM and ROM), EEPROM, flash cards, or any memory common to computer platforms. The platform 202 may also include a local database 214 that may store applications that are not actively used in the memory 212. Local database 214 is typically a flash memory cell, but may be any secondary storage device such as magnetic media, EEPROM, optical media, tape, soft or hard disk, etc., as is known in the art. The internal platform 202 components may also be operatively coupled to external devices, such as antenna 222, display 224, push-to-talk button 228 and keypad 226, among other components known in the art have.

Accordingly, embodiments may include a UE that includes the capability to perform the functions described herein. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the various logic elements may be embodied by separate elements that perform the functionality described herein, software modules executing on the processor, or any combination of software and hardware. For example, the ASIC 208, the memory 212, the API 210 and the local database 214 may all be cooperatively configured to load, store and execute various functions of the in-band signaling application 250 disclosed herein And therefore the logic performing these functions may be distributed across several elements. Alternatively, the functionality may be incorporated into one separate component. Thus, the features of the UE 200 of FIG. 3 are exemplary only and the various embodiments are not limited to the illustrated features or arrangements.

The wireless communication between the UE 102 or 200 and the RAN 120 may be performed using different techniques such as code division multiple access (CDMA), W-CDMA, time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA) (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), or other protocols that may be used in a wireless communication network or a data communication network. For example, in W-CDMA, data communication typically occurs between the client device 102, the Node B (s) 124, and the RNC 122. The RNC 122 may be connected to a plurality of data networks, such as a core network 126, a PSTN, the Internet, a virtual private network, an SGSN, a GGSN, As shown in Fig. As is known in the art and prior art, voice transmission and / or data may be transmitted from the RAN to the UEs using various networks and configurations. Accordingly, the examples provided herein are not intended to limit the various embodiments, but merely to aid in the description of aspects of the embodiments.

Multimedia may be exchanged over data packets on any of the above-mentioned communication networks using RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol). RTP supports a range of multimedia formats (such as H.264, MPEG-4, MJPEG, MPEG, etc.) and allows new formats to be added without modification of the RTP standard. An example of the header portion of the 40-octet overhead RTP packet may be configured as follows.

Table 1: Example of RTP packet header

Referring to Table 1, the general fields of the RTP packet header portion are well known in the art. After the RTP header portion, the RTP packet includes a data payload portion. The data payload portion may comprise digitized samples of speech and / or video. The length of the data payload may be different for different RTP packets. For example, in voice RTP packets, the length of the speech samples delivered by the data payload may correspond to a sound of 20 milliseconds (ms). In general, for longer media retention periods (e.g., frames that are more high-rate), the data payload also needs to be longer, or otherwise the quality of the media sample is reduced.

In general, an RTP transmitter captures multimedia data (e.g., from a user of an RTP transmitter), which is then encoded and framed and transmitted as RTP packets with appropriate time stamps and incrementing sequence numbers . The RTP packet transmitted by the RTP transmitter may be delivered to the target RTP device (or RTP receiver) through a server that relays the session between the RTP transmitter and the receiver, or alternatively may be peer-to-peer (P2P) Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > RTP < / RTI > The RTP receiver may receive RTP packets, detect lost packets, and perform reordering of the packets. The frames are decoded depending on the payload format and provided to the user of the RTP receiver.

4 illustrates a termination process of RTP-based communication in accordance with one embodiment. 4, a device A 401 (e.g., a UE, such as the UE 200 described above) is coupled to a frame buffer 402 containing frames 110-113 of audio data I am recording audio. Audio data from the frame buffer 402 is formatted into a payload of one or more RTP packets (these frames are shown as part of the payload for RTP packet 9 in FIG. 4) and transmitted during the audio transmission (or stream) . At the end of the audio transmission, the user of device A 401 may definitively indicate the end of the audio transmission or stream (e.g., by releasing the PTT button 403). This causes a marker bit (MB) 404 to be set in the Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) header of packet 9. MB 404 is a well-known RTP header field, but is typically not used to indicate the end of the data stream. In practice, the MB 404 is typically used to indicate the start (not the end) of a stream or talk-spurt. In addition, Packet 9 contains a table of contents (TOC) and an audio payload (frames 110-113). It will be appreciated that in the illustrated embodiment, packet 9 is part of the stream of packets 407 that contain streaming audio data in various frames in packets 7, 8, and 9. In this illustrated embodiment, each of packets 7 and 8 has RTP headers, TOCs, and six frames (frames 98-103 and frames 104-109, respectively). Packet 9 has only four frames due to the broken audio transmission. However, the last packet in stream 407 may have 0-6 frames in this example, because the end of the audio transmission may occur at any arbitrary position. In addition, it is noted that, since any number of frames may be used, the various embodiments are not limited to a bundling factor of six frames per packet. Regardless of the number of frames in the final packet, including the audio transmission, the final packet contains the marker bit in the RTP header to definitively indicate the end of the audio transmission. It is also understood that while MB 404 is being operated in the embodiment of FIG. 4 to indicate the end of the data stream (or audio transmission), it is understood that the RTP header fields may serve for this purpose in other embodiments will be.

Media stream 407 may optionally proceed through a server (e.g., application server 170) and may be buffered and / or reordered at the network level. Additionally, network reordering 420 may occur on a negative side (e.g., leaving packets chaotic) due to path delays, routing problems, network congestion, and the like. The network reordering 420 makes it difficult to determine when the actual termination of the stream occurs. Various embodiments make it easier to detect the actual end of the stream. Specifically, the randomly delivered marker bit packets will be automatically "reordered" as part of the de-jitter / re-ordering buffer, causing the out-of-band signaling to be output / processed in the order in which they were sent .

However, regardless of whether the packets are buffered and / or reordered in the network, the stream 407 will be received at the device B 411 in the de-jitter buffer 408 and buffered and optionally rearranged as needed. Thereafter, the frames are played out at device B, and device B is in state 409 where device A is talking and having voice in the PTT context. Thereafter, the frame 113 is played because the marker bit is set in the RTP header of packet 9 and device B is to be notified definitively that the stream has ended. Device B may then immediately receive notice that the voice is currently open 410 (e.g., available for audio transmission from device B or another device) There is no need to wait for the out-of-band signaling indication of the talk burst availability. It will be appreciated that by using in-band signaling, the end of the stream and the voice rights status can be updated immediately without delays due to waiting for out-of-band signaling. However, since the server may not yet be informed that it is not monitoring in-band signaling (further discussion of this aspect is provided in the next paragraph), it should be noted that the voice is "open " do.

In another aspect, to address the possibility that packet 9 is dropped and the marker bits are lost and thus the in-band termination of the stream indicator is also lost, a configurable number of RTP packets including the marker bits are sent to the in- (E. G., A marker bit) is received. For example, the last N RTP packets of the audio transmission may convey the MB 404 with the marker bits set to indicate the end of the audio transmission (or stream). In a further example, N "empty" RTP packets (i.e., empty audio payload data) are sent after the last substantial RTP packet so that the target device (s) Can be guaranteed.

In another aspect, which solves the possibility that packet 9 is dropped and the marker bits are lost and thus the in-band termination of the stream indicator is also lost, the last few packets of the data stream may be configured to count down to the last packet. When the user releases the PTT button, device A 401 may still buffer packets. These packets may consist of a header extension or a field or byte in the payload indicating a "countdown" to the final packet. For example, suppose that when the user releases the PTT button, packets 7-9 are still being buffered in device A 401, the field in packet 7 is set to " 3 ". Alternatively, the field in packet 7 may be set to "2" to indicate that there are more than two packets before the last packet. Likewise, the field in packet 8 may be set to "2" or "1 ". As the last packet, the field in packet 9 may be set to "1" or "0 ". Alternatively, packet 9 may not contain fields such as packets 7 and 8, but rather has a set of marker bits or special payloads as described herein. Note that the field in the payload is a field in the audio payload and not a field in the payload of a separate stream packet end.

Since several packets at the end of the data stream are configured to count down to the last packet, as long as the target receives at least one of these packets, it will be able to determine which packet should be final or final. For example, if device B 411 is provided to receive each packet at 120 ms, if device B 411 receives packet 7 within 240 ms but not packets 8 and 9, 9 is the last packet, it is not necessary to keep waiting for packet 10. If there is a 1 instead, it can immediately switch to another incoming stream.

4 has been described in terms of transmitting audio data, device A 401 may additionally or alternatively include video and / or opac data (e.g., moving across the user interface of device A 401) Xy coordinates of the pointer) may be recorded and transmitted. In this case, each of the frames 98-103, 104-109, and 110-113 of packets 7, 8, and 9 includes audio, video, and / or puck data. The opac data is data having a hidden representation or format, and thus can only be manipulated by calling subroutines with access to the representation of the opac data.

In another aspect, device A 401 may be transmitting synchronized audio and video streams. Since the two streams are synchronized, the end of the audio stream can also be determined. Thus, the termination of one or both of the audio and video streams may be marked in various embodiments. It is desirable to mark the end of both streams such that the end of one stream, or the end of another stream, and thus the end of a stream with lost packets, are still known if the last packet or the last few packets of one stream are lost. Alternatively, only the end of one stream can be marked and the receiver can determine the end of another stream based on the marked stream.

In view of the above disclosure, due to the difficulty of synchronizing out-of-band signaling with in-band media transmissions, in-band signaling has the potential to represent a more precise point in time when the stream really ends from the perspective of the receiver. Will be understood by those skilled in the art. If not correctly synchronized, out-of-band signaling may leave a gap in time, where the "END" signal may arrive too early or too late, causing the possibility of chopping the stream short, Packets will stop reaching but without user context update). In-band "signaling" eliminates the signaling to the server or other control entity and other additional complexity of synchronizing the stream. In addition, the use of in-band signaling can deliver the endpoint of the data stream as soon as the last (or near-final) packet in the data stream is received, thereby allowing the session state It is possible to transmit the termination of the session state at a higher speed than the traffic inactivity timer which recognizes the termination only.

5 illustrates a process for terminating an RTP-based communication session via normal out-of-band signaling. The process of Figure 5 is similar in some respects to the process of Figure 4 whereby device A 501 has a frame buffer 502 with frames of audio data and stream 507, Jitter buffer 508 of the B 511. Additional common elements in the system of FIG. 4 are not mentioned to avoid redundancy. However, in the process shown in FIG. 5, there is no marker bit indicating the end of media content (e.g., audio in a PTT call). Instead, in a typical out-of-band signaling based session termination, device A 501 sends an out-of-band signaling 504 indicating that device A 501 has released the talk (e.g., the stream from device A has ended) To the application server 170. The application server 170 then processes the out-of-band signaling 504 from the device A 501 and uses the out-of-band signaling 505 to terminate the voice when the voice is released 510), to another device (s) (e.g., device B 511). Depending on the various latencies and / or other delays in the in-band buffers (e.g., de-jitter buffer 508 or other buffers), out-of-band signaling of the floor release (E.g., it may cause some of the audio of device A 501 to be truncated and cause an early release of the voice) or may arrive too late (e.g., For example, although it is not explicitly shown in FIG. 5, it fetches extended periods without audio / media before the floor is released).

Referring to FIG. 6, an example of in-band signaling with two incoming streams is illustrated. Device A 601 may capture media (e.g., video, audio, opac data, etc.) 602 that may be streamed 607 into a series of packets. Similarly, device B 611 may capture B media (e.g., video, audio, opaque data, etc.) 612 that may be streamed 617 into a series of packets. Each stream may be received in device C 621 in de-jitter buffer A and de-jitter buffer B, respectively. Each stream will have a separate SSRC (Synchronization Source) contained in the headers of their respective RTP packets so that device C 621 can identify and distinguish between streams. Similar to the above description, stream 607 includes packet 9 which also contains a marker bit indicating the time at which the transmitting device (e.g., device A) wants to switch media or the end of the media. This allows device C to immediately cut off the source 630 for the second stream, which is included in the digital buffer 618 from the first stream de-jitter buffer 608. [ It also brings up a cut-over of media 631 from A media 602 to B media 612, which may be reflected on 622 (e.g., a media player, display, etc.) on device C 621. Thus, as described above, precise cut-off time that can not be easily realized using out-of-band signaling is provided.

Although some basic examples of the use and implementation of in-band signaling to mark the end of stream or stream transmission have been provided above, the various embodiments are not limited by the above description.

For example, FIG. 7A illustrates a process for terminating an RTP-based communication session in accordance with an embodiment that further includes server interaction with in-band signaling. This process is similar to that described with respect to FIG. 4, and media, such as audio, video, or opaque data, is streamed from device A to application server 170 for transmission from device 710 to device B For packets 7 and 8). The PTT button may be released at 712 and the marker bit may be added to the last packet (e.g., packet 9) and the last packet is then transmitted 714 to the application server 170. In an alternative example, if device A is streaming off-packet data, such as xy coordinates of a pointer moving across the screen of device A, then at 712, i.e., ending the user's session entered at the PTT release, It does not have to correspond to the release and can correspond to other user's inputs, including removing the pointer, such as a finger or stylus from the screen, which signals to device A to add a marker bit to the last packet of the opac data (714). 7A, the application server 170 receives the media stream (e.g., packets 7 and 8) and then sends the media stream to the intended target (s) (e.g., device B) (720). At 722, the application server 170 selectively receives and detects packets with marker bits. The application server 170 may actively update the context of device A and / or the floor state (e.g., open). Alternatively, the application server 170 may not take any action other than detecting the marker bit. The remaining media is streamed to the target (s) at 724. At this point, the application server 170 waits for out-of-band signaling to confirm the release of the media / the release of the voice from the device A, without doing anything.

Device B is operating in listening mode 730 because device A has a voice. At 732, upon receiving the streaming media (e.g., packets 7 and 8), device B plays / processes them in the normal manner. On the other hand, when a final packet with a marker bit is received 734, the user context and voice rights state of originating device A are changed 736 to open state (locally at device B).

Although only device B is described, there may be multiple target devices, each of which may have different latencies, such as illustrated in FIG. 7B, so that both the acknowledgment of in-band signaling from the targets and the bandwidth It will be appreciated that adjusting the floor state or other transitions using my signaling may enhance system performance and user experience. This, for example, prevents premature admission of rights to faster devices.

Referring to FIG. 7B, the media from originating device A is considered to be the same as FIG. 7A, and thus will not be described again here. The example also begins with the transmission 724 of the last packet with the marker bit to multiple targets (e.g., Device B to Device N). Each device receives (734, 744) the last packet with a marker bit and the user context and voice rights state of originating device A are changed to open (736, 746). At 738, an affirmative response of the release of the floor (release of floor) from the device B is transmitted to the application server 170. Then, at a later time, an affirmative response of the floor release (floor open) is transmitted from the device N (748). Additionally, in this embodiment, the application server 170 may wait for an affirmative acknowledgment from the target (s), such as at 726, before designating the floor to be open in the application server 170 . This alternative embodiment differs from the conventional PTT model. In a typical PTT model, the server does not wait until the devices receiving the streams acknowledge (Ack) the end of the stream. However, in this alternative embodiment, the server does not reflect the speak open state until the server receives an acknowledgment (Ack) from each target / listener (738, 748) to avoid a false positive response. It will be appreciated that the notion of "the floor is open" at 736 and 746 comes from the device / user perspective. 7A, the application server 170 optionally selectively evaluates the RTP header fields of the incoming RTP packets from device A such that the application server 170, in 722 of FIG. 7A, It is possible to recognize RTP packets from device A with marker bits set to indicate termination. However, the application server 170 in FIG. 7B is informed of the intent of device A to abandon the voice when receiving ACKs at 738 and / or 748 of FIG. 7B. Thus, in FIG. 7B, it is indicated that the selective operation of 722 from FIG. 7A is not performed.

In another aspect, device A may terminate the media and provide a marker bit to indicate it. However, immediately after that, device A may want to reacquire the voice to continue. In this scenario, when a request / media from device A is received, if the packet with the marker bit is still being buffered at the application server 170, then the application server 170 strips out the marker bit from the buffered packets And there is no change in the talk state state recognized by the target devices.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart 800 of an embodiment in which a server can detect a marker bit. At 810, the process begins with the server receiving the last RTP packet for the particular data stream from the sending device. At 820, if the server determines that the final packet status is marked as positive by the marker bit, the process may proceed as described above (e.g., 722 in FIG. 7). However, if marker bits are not detected, alternate methods may be employed by the server to determine the termination of the media (e.g., out-of-band signaling, traffic inactivity timer expiration, etc.). For example, the server may determine, at 830, whether the out-of-band signaling indicates that the intent of the transmitting device is to stop transmitting and / or releasing the talk media, and the server may also determine whether the traffic for the connection to the sending device It may be determined 840 whether the inactivity timer has expired. If 830 or 840 indicates the end of a media stream (or transmission session) from the sending device, the server may generate 850 a packet containing the marker bit and send the packet to the target device (s) (860). Thus, this hybrid configuration allows normal processing to receive out-of-band signaling, and may still affect in-band signaling if media termination and / or voice release is determined. This may be useful for interfacing to non-native systems or legacy devices that do not support the recognition of marker bits as an indicator of the final media packet. Finally, the watchdog (or traffic inactivity) timer may be configured to time out at 840 as an indication of the end of media and / or floor release. If no media packets and signaling are received, the server may generate 850 a packet containing the marker bit and may transmit 860 the packet to the target device (s). It also functions as a backup to devices that contain marker bits when packets or packets with marker bits are lost or collapsed. Thus, detecting a marker bit in the server may allow additional flexibility to affect in-band signaling for those that did not receive the marker bit.

As noted above, the marker bits were used to describe deterministic in-band signaling to mark the end of the media stream. However, it is understood that other mechanisms may be used for in-band signaling. For example, erasure frames, null / blank rate frames, RTP packets without payload, RTP packets with partial payload, etc. may be used as in-band signaling to mark the end of the stream. In addition, the in-band signaling of the end of the media stream may be represented by any packet that does not comply with the audio packet and the pool conforming to the packaging and bundling factor of the remaining streams. In addition, it is understood that combinations of the above (e.g., marker bits and RTP packets without payload) can be used. Thus, the various embodiments are not limited to any particular in-band signaling technique.

Although several embodiments are described primarily for one-to-one communication sessions between UEs / devices, it should be appreciated that various embodiments may be implemented for group communication sessions that may include three or more UEs, It can be understood that

9 illustrates a communication device 900 that includes logic configured to perform a function. A communication device 900 may be coupled to a plurality of UEs 102, 108, 110, 112 or 200, Node Bs or base stations 120, an RNC or base station controller 122, a packet data network end- Corresponding to any of the aforementioned communication devices, including but not limited to SGSN 160, GGSN 165, MME (Mobility Management Entity), etc.), arbitrary servers 170 to 186, . Accordingly, communication device 900 may correspond to any electronic device configured to communicate (or facilitate communication) with one or more other entities over a network.

9, communication device 900 includes logic 905 configured to receive and / or transmit information. In one example, if the communication device 900 corresponds to a wireless communication device (e.g., UE 200, Node B 124, etc.), the logic 905 configured to receive and / or transmit information may include a wireless transceiver and / (E.g., Bluetooth, WiFi, 2G, 3G, etc.) such as associated hardware (e.g., RF antenna, modem, modulator and / or demodulator, etc.). In another example, the logic 905 configured to receive and / or transmit information may correspond to a wired communication interface (e.g., a serial connection, a USB or FireWire connection, an Ethernet connection to which the Internet 175 may be accessed, etc.) have. Thus, if the communication device 900 corresponds to any type of network-based server (e.g., SGSN 160, GGSN 165, application server 170, etc.), the logic configured to receive and / (905) may correspond to an Ethernet card, which in one example connects a network-based server to other communication entities via an Ethernet protocol. In a further example, the logic 905 configured to receive and / or transmit information may be configured such that the communications device 900 is capable of communicating with the local environment (e.g., an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, an optical sensor, an antenna for monitoring local RF signals, etc.) ), Which can be used to monitor the health of the patient. The logic 905 configured to receive and / or transmit information may also be configured to cause the associated hardware of the logic 905 configured to receive and / or transmit information to perform its receiving and / or transmitting function (s) , And software. However, the logic 905 configured to receive and / or transmit information does not correspond to software alone, and logic 905 configured to receive and / or transmit information relies at least in part on hardware to achieve its function .

9, the communication device 900 further comprises logic 910 configured to process information. In one example, logic 910 configured to process information may comprise at least a processor. Exemplary implementations of the processing types that may be performed by logic 910 configured to process information include, but are not limited to, making determinations, establishing connections, executing selections between different information options, Interacting with sensors coupled to the communication device 900 to perform measurement operations, communicating information from one format to another format (e.g., from different formats such as .wmv to .avi, etc.) And the like), and the like. For example, a processor included in logic 910 configured to process information may be a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, Discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented in a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. The logic 910 configured to process the information may also include software, when executed, that causes the associated hardware of the logic 910 configured to process the information to perform its processing function (s). However, logic 910 configured to process information does not correspond to software alone, and logic 910 configured to process information is at least partially hardware dependent to achieve its function.

9, the communication device 900 further includes logic 915 configured to store information. In one example, logic 915 configured to store information may include at least non-temporal memory and associated hardware (e.g., memory controller, etc.). For example, the non-volatile memory included in logic 915 configured to store information may be a RAM memory, a flash memory, a ROM memory, an EPROM memory, an EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD- Or any other type of storage medium known in the art. The logic 915 configured to store information may also include software that, when executed, causes the associated hardware of the logic 915 configured to store information to perform its processing function (s). However, logic 915 configured to store information does not correspond to software alone, and logic 915 configured to store information is at least partially hardware dependent to achieve its functionality.

9, the communication device 900 also optionally includes logic 920 configured to present information. In one example, logic 920 configured to present information may include at least an output device and associated hardware. For example, the output device may be capable of transmitting audio information, such as a video output device (e.g., a display screen, a port capable of delivering video information such as USB, HDMI, etc.), an audio output device (E.g., port, USB, HDMI, etc.), a vibration device, and / or any other device that information may be actually output by the user or operator of communication device 900 or formatted for output. For example, if communication device 900 corresponds to UE 200 as shown in FIG. 3, logic 920 configured to present information may include display 224. In a further example, the logic 920 configured to present information may be omitted for specific communication devices, e.g., network communication devices (e.g., network switches or routers, remote servers, etc.) that do not have a local user . The logic 920 configured to present information may also include software that, when executed, causes the associated hardware of the logic 920 configured to present information to perform its processing function (s). However, logic 920 configured to present information does not correspond to software alone, and logic 920 configured to present information is at least partially hardware dependent to achieve its function.

9, the communication device 900 also optionally includes logic 925 configured to receive local user input. In one example, the logic 925 configured to receive local user input may include at least a user input device and associated hardware. For example, a user input device may include buttons, a touch screen display, a keyboard, a camera, an audio input device (e.g., a port that can carry audio information such as a microphone or microphone jack, etc.), and / Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 900, < / RTI > For example, if the communication device 900 corresponds to a UE 200 as shown in FIG. 3, the logic 925 configured to receive local user input (if implemented in a touch-screen) A keypad 226, and the like. In a further example, the logic 925 configured to receive local user input is directed to specific communication devices, such as network communication devices (e.g., network switches or routers, remote servers, etc.) that do not have local users Can be omitted. The logic 925 configured to receive local user input may also include software that, when executed, causes the associated hardware of the logic 925 configured to receive local user input to perform its processing function (s). However, logic 925 configured to receive local user input does not correspond to software alone, and logic 925 configured to receive local user input depends at least in part on hardware to accomplish its function.

9, the configured logic of 905 through 925 is shown as separate or separate blocks in FIG. 9, but it is recognized that the hardware and / or software in which each configured logic performs its functions may partially overlap will be. For example, any software used to facilitate the functioning of configured logic 905 through 925 may be stored in a non-transient memory associated with logic 915 configured to store information such that each of the configured logic of 905 through 925 (I. E., Software execution in this case) based in part on the operation of the software stored by the logic 905 configured to transmit information. Similarly, hardware directly associated with one of the configured logic may sometimes be substituted or used by other configured logic. For example, a processor of logic 910 configured to process information may format data in an appropriate format before being transmitted by logic 905 configured to receive and / or transmit information to receive and / (I.e., in this case, sending data) based in part on the operation of the hardware (i. E., Processor) associated with logic 910 configured to process the information .

Logic or "configured to logic" in various blocks refers to the ability to perform the functions described herein (either hardware or a combination of hardware and software), rather than being limited to specific logic gates or elements. . Thus, the configured logic or "configured to logic" illustrated in the various blocks is not necessarily implemented as logic gates or logic elements, although sharing the word "logic ".

Those skilled in the art will recognize that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, Optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both . In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the above-described functionality may be implemented in a variety of ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the various embodiments.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) Programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a combination of a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such combination of configurations.

The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art . An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated into the process. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., an access terminal). Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside in a user terminal as separate components.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described above may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmitted on one or more instructions or code as computer readable media. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, Or any other medium which can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection refers to a computer readable medium as appropriate. For example, if the software is transmitted from a web site, server, or other remote source using wireless technologies such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line, or infrared, wireless, and microwave, , Twisted pair, digital subscriber line, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of the medium. Disks and discs as used herein include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVD), floppy discs and Blu-ray discs, Normally, data is reproduced magnetically, and discs optically reproduce data using a laser. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

While the foregoing disclosure illustrates exemplary embodiments of the invention, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The steps and / or actions of the method claims according to embodiments of the invention described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, elements of the present invention may be described or claimed in a singular, but plural forms are also shown unless explicitly stated in the singular.

Claims (68)

CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. A method for indicating an end of a data stream using in-band signaling,
Transmitting the data stream, the data stream comprising a plurality of packets, each packet of the plurality of packets comprising a header and a payload having a marker bit field;
Configuring the marker bit field and the payload of at least one of the plurality of packets to indicate an end of the data stream, wherein the marker bit field set in the at least one packet comprises at least Wherein the payload of one packet is less than the payloads of other packets of the plurality of packets, and wherein setting a field in the payload indicates a countdown to the last packet of the data stream. ;
Detecting, at the server, out-of-band signaling indicative of an end of the data stream before detecting that it constitutes the marker bit field and the payload of the at least one packet, the server detecting Detecting said out-of-band signaling, performing said marker bit field and said payload in response to said out-of-band signaling; And
And transmitting the configured at least one packet to at least one target device,
If no marker bits and no out-of-band signaling are detected, the server generates a packet containing a new marker bit and sends the generated packet with the new marker bit to the at least one target device, And wherein marker bits indicate termination of the data stream using in-band signaling. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the configuring comprises configuring the marker bit field with a given bit pattern to indicate an end of the data stream, wherein in-band signaling is used to indicate the end of the data stream. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the at least one packet with the set marker bit field set comprises:
Including less than the entire amount of content in the payload;
Including a partial bundle of frames;
Including all blank and / or erase frames; or
Do not include payload
In-band signaling is used to indicate the end of the data stream. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the configuring comprises configuring the marker bit field and / or field within the payload of each packet of a range of packets immediately before the last packet of the data stream to indicate termination of the data stream Wherein the in-band signaling is used to indicate termination of the data stream. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the range of packets is configured to act as a countdown to the last packet. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the wireless device determines termination of the data stream based on at least one of the range of packets. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein configuring the marker bit field indicates termination of the data stream using in-band signaling, which is used to mark the end of the audio stream. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein configuring the marker bit field indicates termination of the data stream using in-band signaling, which is used to mark the end of the video stream. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the header is a Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) header, wherein in-band signaling is used to detect the end of the data stream. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the configuring step is triggered by an affirmative action, using in-band signaling. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the deterministic action is a release of a push-to-talk (PTT) button, using in-band signaling. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the deterministic action is lifting a pointer from a screen of a wireless device transmitting the data stream using in-band signaling. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the data stream comprises audio, video and / or opaque data. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 19 > 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the data stream includes opacity data,
Wherein the opacity data is coordinate data of a pointer that is dragged across the screen of the wireless device transmitting the data stream, using in-band signaling. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the data stream is media content in a group communication using in-band signaling. 16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein indicating the end of the data stream is indicative of a release of a floor in the group communication. 17. The method of claim 16,
Further comprising receiving an acknowledgment of a release of the voice at a wireless device transmitting the data stream. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the server detects that the at least one packet is composed and updates the user context prior to receiving the out-of-band signaling, wherein in-band signaling is used to indicate termination of the data stream. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the at least one packet is the last packet of the data stream using in-band signaling. CLAIMS 1. A method for detecting termination of a data stream using in-band signaling,
Receiving the data stream, the data stream comprising a plurality of packets, each packet of the plurality of packets comprising a header and a payload having a marker bit field;
Detecting that at least one of the plurality of packets is configured to indicate termination of the data stream, wherein the detecting comprises detecting that the marker bit field of the at least one packet indicates the end of the data stream Wherein the payload of the at least one packet comprises less data than the payloads of the other packets of the plurality of packets, and the payload of the at least one packet is comprised of the data stream Detecting that the at least one packet is configured to indicate termination of the data stream, the method comprising: detecting that the at least one packet comprises a field indicating a countdown to a final packet of the at least one packet;
Detecting, at the server, out-of-band signaling indicative of an end of the data stream before detecting detection of configuring the at least one packet, wherein the server, in response to detecting the out-of-band signaling, The method comprising: detecting the out-of-band signaling; And
And transmitting the configured at least one packet to at least one target device,
If no marker bits and no out-of-band signaling are detected, the server generates a packet containing a new marker bit and sends the generated packet with the new marker bit to the at least one target device, Wherein the marker bit indicates termination of the data stream. 21. The method of claim 20,
Wherein detecting that said at least one packet is configured to indicate termination of said data stream comprises detecting that said marker bit field of said at least one packet is configured with a given bit pattern to indicate termination of said data stream Using in-band signaling to detect the end of the data stream. 21. The method of claim 20,
In-band signaling, wherein the at least one packet is one of a range of packets immediately preceding the last packet. 23. The method of claim 22,
Wherein each packet of the range of packets includes a field indicating the countdown to the last packet. 21. The method of claim 20,
Further comprising determining that the last packet of the data stream is based on detecting that the at least one packet is configured to indicate termination of the data stream. How to. 25. The method of claim 24,
And in response to determining a last packet of the data stream, updating the user context at a wireless device receiving the data stream. 26. The method of claim 25,
Further comprising transmitting to the wireless device transmitting the data stream an acknowledgment that the user context has been updated. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 19 > 21. The method of claim 20,
The data stream is a first data stream received from a first wireless device,
The method comprises:
Receiving a second data stream from a second wireless device;
Buffering the first data stream and the second data stream; And
Further comprising switching from playing the first data stream to playing the second data stream in response to detecting that the at least one packet is configured to indicate termination of the data stream. A method for detecting termination of a data stream using in-band signaling. 21. The method of claim 20,
Determining that the time since the last packet was received is greater than a threshold; And
And in response thereto, determining that the data stream has been terminated. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 19 > 21. The method of claim 20,
The server determines that the time since the last packet was received is greater than a threshold, and in response, generates the packet comprising the marker bit field configured to indicate termination of the data stream, Wherein the end of the data stream is detected using in-band signaling. 21. The method of claim 20,
Wherein the marker bit field is used to mark the end of the audio stream. 31. The method of claim 30,
Wherein the marker bit field is used to mark the end of the video stream. 21. The method of claim 20,
Wherein the header is a Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) header, wherein in-band signaling is used to detect the end of the data stream. An apparatus for indicating the end of a data stream using in-band signaling,
Logic configured to transmit the data stream, the data stream comprising a plurality of packets, each packet of the plurality of packets comprising a header and a payload having a marker bit field; Logic;
Logic configured to configure the marker bit field and the payload of at least one of the plurality of packets to indicate an end of the data stream, the logic configured to configure the marker bit field and the payload, Logic configured to set the marker bit field in the at least one packet to indicate that the payload of the at least one packet is less than the payloads of other packets of the plurality of packets; Logic configured to configure the marker bit field and the payload, the logic configured to set a field indicating a countdown to the last packet of the data stream;
Logic configured to detect out-of-band signaling at the server, the out-of-band signaling indicating termination of the data stream, prior to detecting detecting the configuring of the marker bit field and the payload of the at least one packet, And configured to configure the marker bit field and the payload in response to detecting an out-of-band signaling; And
And logic configured to transmit the at least one packet configured to at least one target device,
If no marker bits and no out-of-band signaling are detected, the server generates a packet containing a new marker bit and sends the generated packet with the new marker bit to the at least one target device, Wherein the marker bit indicates termination of the data stream, wherein the marker bit indicates termination of the data stream using in-band signaling. 34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the logic configured to configure the marker bit field and the payload comprises logic configured to construct the marker bit field with a given bit pattern to indicate termination of the data stream, . 34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the at least one packet with the set marker bit field set comprises:
Including less than the entire amount of content in the payload;
Including a partial bundle of frames;
Including all blank and / or erase frames; or
Do not include payload
Wherein the in-band signaling is used to indicate an end of a data stream. 34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the marker bit field and the logic configured to configure the payload are arranged such that in the payload of each packet of a range of packets immediately before the last packet of the data stream, Wherein the in-band signaling is indicative of an end of a data stream, the logic comprising logic configured to configure a bit field and / or a field. 37. The method of claim 36,
Wherein the range of packets is configured to act as a countdown to the last packet. 37. The method of claim 36,
Wherein the wireless device determines termination of the data stream based on at least one of the range of packets. 34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the marker bit field is used to mark the end of the audio stream. 34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the marker bit field is used to mark the end of the video stream. 34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the header indicates termination of a data stream using in-band signaling, which is a Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) header. 34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein configuring the marker bit field and the payload is triggered by an affirmative action to indicate termination of the data stream using in-band signaling. 43. The method of claim 42,
Wherein the determinate action is a release of a push-to-talk (PTT) button, wherein the in-band signaling is used to indicate an end of the data stream. 43. The method of claim 42,
Wherein the determinate action is indicative of an end of the data stream using in-band signaling, the pointer lifting from the screen of the wireless device transmitting the data stream. 34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the data stream comprises audio, video and / or opaque data, wherein the in-band signaling is used to indicate termination of the data stream. 46. The method of claim 45,
Wherein the data stream includes opacity data,
Wherein the opac data is indicative of an end of the data stream using in-band signaling, the coordinate data of a pointer being dragged across the screen of the wireless device transmitting the data stream. 34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the data stream is media content in a group communication, wherein the in-band signaling is used to indicate an end of a data stream. 49. The method of claim 47,
Wherein the indicating the end of the data stream is indicative of a release of a floor in the group communication, wherein the in-band signaling is used to indicate an end of the data stream. 49. The method of claim 48,
Further comprising logic configured to receive an acknowledgment of a release of the voice at a wireless device transmitting the data stream. 34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the server is configured to configure the at least one packet and updates the user context prior to receiving the out-of-band signaling, wherein the in-band signaling is used to indicate the end of the data stream. 34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the at least one packet is the last packet of the data stream using in-band signaling. An apparatus for detecting termination of a data stream using in-band signaling,
Logic configured to receive the data stream, wherein the data stream includes a plurality of packets, each packet of the plurality of packets comprising a header and a payload having a marker bit field; Logic;
Logic configured to detect that at least one of the plurality of packets is configured to indicate termination of the data stream, wherein the logic configured to detect comprises: if the marker bit field of the at least one packet indicates the end of the data stream Wherein the payload of the at least one packet comprises a lesser amount of data than the payloads of the other packets of the plurality of packets, Logic configured to detect that the at least one packet is configured to indicate termination of the data stream, including logic configured to detect that the data stream includes a field indicating a countdown to a final packet;
Logic configured to detect, at the server, out-of-band signaling indicative of an end of the data stream before detecting detection of configuring the at least one packet, wherein the server, in response to detecting the out-of-band signaling, Logic configured to detect the out-of-band signaling; And
And logic configured to transmit the at least one packet configured to at least one target device,
If no marker bits and no out-of-band signaling are detected, the server generates a packet containing a new marker bit and sends the generated packet with the new marker bit to the at least one target device, And wherein marker bits indicate termination of the data stream using in-band signaling. 53. The method of claim 52,
The logic configured to detect that the at least one packet is configured to indicate termination of the data stream is configured to detect that the marker bit field of the at least one packet is configured with a given bit pattern to indicate termination of the data stream And comprising configured logic, for detecting termination of the data stream using in-band signaling. 53. The method of claim 52,
Wherein the at least one packet is one of a range of packets immediately preceding the last packet, using in-band signaling. 55. The method of claim 54,
And wherein each packet of the range of packets includes a field indicating the countdown to the last packet. 53. The method of claim 52,
Further comprising logic configured to determine the last packet of the data stream based on detecting that the at least one packet is configured to indicate termination of the data stream, wherein the end of the data stream is detected using in-band signaling . 57. The method of claim 56,
Further comprising logic configured to, in response to determining the last packet of the data stream, to update a user context at a wireless device receiving the data stream using in-band signaling. 58. The method of claim 57,
Further comprising logic configured to send an acknowledgment that the user context has been updated to a wireless device transmitting the data stream using in-band signaling. 53. The method of claim 52,
The data stream is a first data stream received from a first wireless device,
The apparatus comprises:
Logic configured to receive a second data stream from a second wireless device;
Logic configured to buffer the first data stream and the second data stream; And
Further comprising logic configured to switch from playing the first data stream to playing the second data stream in response to detecting that the at least one packet is configured to indicate termination of the data stream. And for detecting an end of the data stream using in-band signaling. 53. The method of claim 52,
Logic configured to determine that the time since the last packet was received is greater than a threshold; And
And in response thereto, logic configured to determine that the data stream has been terminated. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 19 > 53. The method of claim 52,
The server determines that the time since the last packet was received is greater than a threshold, and in response, generates the packet comprising the marker bit field configured to indicate termination of the data stream, Device for detecting an end of a data stream using in-band signaling. 53. The method of claim 52,
Wherein the marker bit field is used to mark the end of the audio stream. 53. The method of claim 52,
Wherein the marker bit field is used to mark the end of the video stream. 53. The method of claim 52,
Wherein the header detects an end of a data stream using in-band signaling, which is a Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) header. An apparatus for indicating the end of a data stream using in-band signaling,
Means for transmitting the data stream, the data stream comprising a plurality of packets, each packet of the plurality of packets comprising a header and a payload having a marker bit field;
Means for configuring the marker bit field and the payload of at least one of the plurality of packets to indicate an end of the data stream, the means for configuring the marker bit field and the payload, Means for setting the marker bit field in the at least one packet to indicate that the payload of the at least one packet is less than the payloads of other packets of the plurality of packets; Means for configuring the marker bit field and the payload, the means comprising means for setting a field indicating a countdown to a last packet of the packet;
Means for detecting, at the server, out-of-band signaling indicative of an end of the data stream before detecting detection of configuring the marker bit field and the payload of the at least one packet, the server detecting Means for detecting said out-of-band signaling, said means for detecting said out-of-band signaling; And
Means for transmitting the at least one packet configured to at least one target device,
If no marker bits and no out-of-band signaling are detected, the server generates a packet containing a new marker bit and sends the generated packet with the new marker bit to the at least one target device, Wherein the marker bit indicates termination of the data stream, wherein the marker bit indicates termination of the data stream using in-band signaling. An apparatus for detecting termination of a data stream using in-band signaling,
Means for receiving the data stream, the data stream comprising a plurality of packets, each packet of the plurality of packets comprising a header and a payload having a marker bit field;
Means for detecting that at least one of the plurality of packets is configured to indicate termination of the data stream, wherein the detecting means is operable to detect that the marker bit field of the at least one packet indicates the end of the data stream Wherein the payload of the at least one packet comprises less data than the payloads of the other packets of the plurality of packets, and the payload of the at least one packet is comprised of the data stream Means for detecting that said at least one packet is configured to indicate termination of said data stream, said means for detecting comprising a field indicating a countdown to a last packet of said data stream;
Means for detecting, at the server, out-of-band signaling indicative of an end of the data stream before detecting detection of configuring the at least one packet, the server comprising means responsive to detecting the out- , Means for detecting the out-of-band signaling; And
Means for transmitting the at least one packet configured to at least one target device,
If no marker bits and no out-of-band signaling are detected, the server generates a packet containing a new marker bit and sends the generated packet with the new marker bit to the at least one target device, And wherein marker bits indicate termination of the data stream using in-band signaling. A computer readable storage medium for indicating an end of a data stream using in-band signaling,
At least one instruction for transmitting the data stream, the data stream comprising a plurality of packets, each packet of the plurality of packets comprising a header having a marker bit field and a payload, At least one instruction for transmitting;
At least one instruction for configuring the marker bit field and the payload of at least one of the plurality of packets to indicate an end of the data stream, the marker bit field and the payload being configured Wherein the at least one instruction to set the marker bit field in the at least one packet to indicate that the payload of the at least one packet is less than the payloads of other packets of the plurality of packets. And at least one instruction for setting a field in the payload to indicate a countdown to the last packet of the data stream, the at least one instruction for configuring the marker bit field and the payload ;
At least one instruction for detecting, at the server, out-of-band signaling indicative of an end of the data stream before detecting detection of configuring the marker bit field and the payload of the at least one packet, At least one instruction for detecting the out-of-band signaling, the at least one instruction being configured to configure the marker bit field and the payload in response to detecting outer signaling; And
And at least one command for transmitting the configured at least one packet to at least one target device,
If no marker bits and no out-of-band signaling are detected, the server generates a packet containing a new marker bit and sends the generated packet with the new marker bit to the at least one target device, And wherein marker bits indicate termination of the data stream using in-band signaling. A computer-readable storage medium for detecting termination of a data stream using in-band signaling,
At least one instruction for receiving the data stream, the data stream comprising a plurality of packets, each packet of the plurality of packets including a header having a marker bit field and a payload, At least one instruction for receiving;
At least one instruction for detecting that at least one of the plurality of packets is configured to indicate termination of the data stream, wherein the at least one instruction for detecting comprises detecting the marker bit field of the at least one packet Characterized in that the payload of the at least one packet comprises less data than the payloads of the other packets of the plurality of packets, and that the at least one packet The at least one packet comprising at least one instruction to detect that the payload of the data stream includes a field indicating a countdown to the last packet of the data stream, Logic configured to:
At least one command for detecting, at the server, out-of-band signaling indicative of an end of the data stream prior to detecting the configuring of the at least one packet, wherein the server, in response to detecting the out- At least one instruction for detecting said out-of-band signaling, said at least one instruction being configured to configure at least one packet; And
And at least one command for transmitting the configured at least one packet to at least one target device,
If no marker bits and no out-of-band signaling are detected, the server generates a packet containing a new marker bit and sends the generated packet with the new marker bit to the at least one target device, Wherein marker bits indicate termination of the data stream. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 19 >

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