WO2007074959A1

WO2007074959A1 - System for providing share of contents based on packet network in voice comunication based on circuit network

Info

Publication number: WO2007074959A1
Application number: PCT/KR2006/002552
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hyun-Sam Shin; Ki-Ju Yoo; Neung-Je Kang; Sang-Joon Park; Soo-Jin Choi
Original assignee: Kt Corporation
Priority date: 2005-12-26
Filing date: 2006-06-30
Publication date: 2007-07-05
Also published as: KR20070067927A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for providing contents sharing during a voice call, and a terminal for realizing the same. The contents sharing system includes: a register server for mapping a telephone number of a subscriber station assigned from a first communication network and an IP address of a subscriber station assigned from a second communication network, and registering and controlling the mapped result; a call server for processing a contents sharing request call received from the subscriber station; and a contents share server for receiving the contents sharing request call from the call server, establishing a data session for contents sharing between the contact subscriber stations performing a voice call through the first communication network by using an IP address registered to the register server, and controlling a contents sharing function in the data session.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING SHARE OF CONTENTS BASED ON PACKET NETWORK IN VOICE COMUNICATION BASED ON CIRCUIT NETWORK

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system and method for providing contents sharing during a voice call, and a terminal for realizing the same, and in particular, it relates to a system and method for realizing a voice call based on a circuit switching system including code division multiple access (CDMA) and public switched telephone network (PSTN), and realizing contents sharing based on an Internet protocol (IP)-based packet switching system, and a terminal for applying the same.

(b) Description of the Related Art Recently, various non-verbal additional telephone services have been considered, and related services have been developed in various ways. That is, additional services (e.g., a multimedia messaging service (MMS), video on demand (VOD), background sound services, and game services in the case of mobile communication terminals), in addition to the voice call function that is the main original function of the terminal, have been provided.

Also, the voice call function is allowable through a cable messenger connected to the computer. A picture board, various applications, and games can be shared on the cable messenger through a peer to peer method during a voice call.

However, when a sharing function is provided on the computer-based cable messenger basis, the sharing function can only be used after turning on the computer, accessing the cable messenger server, and logging on to the system. Also, it is required to establish a plurality of data sessions when attempting to share data between many users through the peer to peer method. Further, end-to-end session control is not performed and the quality of service (QoS) for voice and data traffic is not guaranteed. It is not easy for the terminal to solve the problem of data sharing between users by considering the type of shared data or the performance and screen size of the terminal of the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a system, method, and terminal for making a call by using the telephone number for the existing PSTN or CDMA network, controlling contents sharing between callers, and mutually controlling the shared contents by using the IP network.

In one aspect of the present invention, a contents sharing system includes: a register server for mapping a telephone number of a subscriber station assigned from a first communication network and an IP address of a subscriber station assigned from a second communication network, and registering and controlling the mapped result; a call server for processing a contents sharing request call received from the subscriber station; and a contents share server for receiving the contents sharing request call from the call server, establishing a data session for contents sharing between the contact subscriber stations performing a voice call through the first communication network by using an IP address registered to the register server, and controlling a contents sharing function in the data session.

In another aspect of the present invention, a contents sharing method includes: (a) receiving a contents sharing request call; (b) checking whether the contents sharing request call includes an IP address of a subscriber station; (c) establishing a data session for contents sharing by using the IP address when the contents sharing request call is found to include the IP address of a subscriber station; (d) acquiring an IP address of the contact subscriber station and establishing a data session for contents sharing by using the acquired IP address when the contents sharing request call is not

found to include the IP address of a subscriber station; and (e) providing a contents sharing function through the established data session.

In another aspect of the present invention, a subscriber station includes: a storage unit for storing a telephone number assigned from a first communication network and an IP address assigned from a second communication network; a register unit for requesting to register the telephone number and the IP address from a server for mapping and registering the telephone number and the IP address stored in the storage unit, and requesting and receiving an IP address of a contact subscriber station performing a voice call from the server when a contents sharing request is generated, the contact subscriber station being a subscriber station having registered the telephone number assigned from the first communication network and the IP address assigned from the second communication network; a voice call processor for performing a voice call by using the telephone number assigned from the first communication network; and a contents sharing processor for performing a contents sharing request and a contents sharing function by using the IP address registered to the server through the second communication network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a system for providing contents sharing during a voice call according to an embodiment of the present

invention.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed schematic diagram for a register server of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a mapping registration example of a telephone number and an IP address of a subscriber station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method for providing contents sharing during a voice call according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a functional block diagram of a terminal for providing contents sharing during a voice call according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a terminal for providing contents sharing during a voice call according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification. Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word "comprising," and variations such as "comprises", will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. Also, the term "module" in the present specification represents a unit for processing a predetermined function or operation, which can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. A system and method for providing contents sharing during a voice call, and a terminal for realizing the same will now be described in detail with reference to drawings according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a system for providing contents sharing during a voice call according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the contents sharing system 200 is connected to

the subscriber station 100 through the IP network. The subscriber station 100 is exemplified as being connected to the CDMA network and performs a voice call through the CDMA system 300. Also, the voice call can be performed through the PSTN as well as through the CDMA. That is, the subscriber station 100 includes a terminal having a CDMA calling function and an IP function, and a terminal having a PSTN calling function and an IP function. That is, the voice call uses the existing PSTN or CDMA network elements, and uses the IP network for contents sharing.

In this instance, the contents sharing system 200 includes a register server 210, a call server 220, a contents share server 230, a contents convert server 240, and a media server 250. The register server 210 maps a subscriber telephone number provided from the PSTN or the CDMA network and an IP address of the subscriber station 100 assigned from the IP network, and registers and manages the mapped data, and the register server 210 includes a table for mapping a CDMA or PSTN telephone number of the subscriber station and an IP address, provides an IP address mapped on the telephone number when querying the telephone number (Key Index) of an IP address, and provides a telephone number mapped on a uniform resource identifier (URI) (Key Index) when querying the URI that is an IP address of a telephone number. The subscriber station 100 maps the uniform resource identifier (URI) used for establishing a data session for contents sharing and an IP address assigned from the actual IP network. When the IP address is changed, an

update process for newly mapping the changed IP address and the URI is performed. In this instance, it is possible to perform a subscriber authentication process by transmitting terminal information and to perform a registration process on the subscriber authenticated subscriber station 100. In this instance, the session initiation protocol (SIP) method, the transmission control protocol (TCP) application protocol, and the SMS are usable when performing a registration process on the subscriber station 100.

The call server 220 is a server for controlling a contents sharing call process, and it receives a contents sharing request call with a contact subscriber station 100 from the subscriber station 100 and transmits the same to the contents share server 230. That is, the call server 220 establishes and cancels a session with the subscriber station 100. In this instance, when establishing a data session for a contents sharing request based on the SIP, the call server 220 can request a URI, an IP address, and subscriber profile information on the contact subscriber station 100 from the register server 210 and can receive the same therefrom. The call server 220 can transmit a contents sharing request call and a message including information on the contact subscriber station to the contents share server 230 by using the SIP method.

The contents share server 230 is a server for performing a contents sharing function between the subscriber stations 100 performing a voice call, and it receives the contents sharing request call from the call server 220, establishes a data session with the subscriber station 100, and controls the contents sharing function at the data session. In this instance, the contents share server 230 determines and establishes the contents sharing method and the contents conversion status in consideration of a contents storage position, a contents file type, performance of the subscriber station 100, and a screen size.

That is, the contents share server 230 considers the terminal screen size of the contact subscriber station 100 and a 1 :N user call to determine whether to convert data including screen resizing, compression, and multicasting/unicasting, and performs an adequate process according to the determination result. The data session is established by the TCP, and transmits TCP type contents traffic and control signals to the subscriber stations performing a call. In this instance, the contents traffic can be shared with the contact subscriber station performing a call through the contents share server, or can be shared between the subscriber stations. Further, when the path storing the contents is a subscriber station, it is possible to provide loading information (i.e., a loading path of contents) to the subscriber station performing a call and to share the same when loading and receiving the contents stored in the storage path or an external server. Also, the contents share server 230 generates and transmits a contents sharing control signal between the subscriber stations. That is, for example, the contents share server 230 generates and transmits a signal for controlling the contact subscriber station so that the contact may only receive contents when one of the subscriber stations sharing the contents desires to share predetermined contents with the contact. The contents share server 230 determines position information on the contents to be shared between the subscriber stations performing a call and a sharing method such as unicasting or multicasting following contents file types, and performs a contents sharing function between the callers.

The contents convert server 240 is a server for converting and compressing a file size and a format of the contents to be shared in consideration of the performance and the screen size of the subscriber station 100, and converts the contents according to the determination and establishment by the contents share server 230.

The media server 250 performs a multimedia contents sharing and controlling function when the contents to be shared are multimedia contents.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed schematic diagram for the register server of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the register server 210 includes a subscriber authenticator 212 and a subscriber register unit 214. The subscriber authenticator 212 receives terminal information from the subscriber station 100 and authenticates a subscriber. In this instance, the authentication represents a general authentication function and no detailed description thereof will be provided. The subscriber register unit 214 maps a telephone number and an IP address of the subscriber station 100 to perform a registration and update process, and provides an IP address to the subscriber station 100 when the subscriber station 100 requests the IP address. In this instance, the subscriber register unit 214 includes a storage module 214a, a register module 214b, and a mapping module 214c.

The storage module 214a stores a telephone number of the subscriber station 100 and an IP address mapped with the telephone number.

The register module 214b receives the IP address from the subscriber station 100 and registers the IP address to the storage module 214a and updates the same.

The mapping module 214c receives a telephone number of the contact subscriber station 100 performing a call with the subscriber station 100 from the subscriber station 100 and maps a corresponding IP address

and provides the mapped one.

FIG. 3 shows a mapping registration example of the telephone number of the subscriber station and the IP address according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) showing an example for mapping a PSTN or CDMA terminal telephone number and the terminal's IP address and registering a mapped result to the register server 210, and (b) showing an example for mapping the telephone number and the IP address and storing the mapped result.

That is, the CDMA and IP based terminal or the PSTN and IP based terminal has a fixed telephone number. The telephone number and the mapped IP address are registered to the register server 210 periodically or when the IP address is allocated or changed when the terminal is turned on. When a session for sharing the contents is established during a voice call and an IP address of the contact subscriber Station is needed, the telephone number is set to be an index (key index) to bring the mapped IP address and thus acquires the contact's IP address.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method for providing contents sharing during a voice call according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, when the PSTN or CDMA and IP-based terminal is turned on or the IP address is changed, the telephone number and the mapped IP address (URI) are registered to the register server (S101).

While the voice call is connected by using the PSTN or CDMA network elements (e.g., an exchange) to generate a 1 :1 or 1 :N call, the subscriber selects contents sharing (S103).

The subscriber station requests and acquires the IP address mapped on the telephone number of the contact subscriber station performing a call from the register server (S105, S107).

The subscriber station transmits a contents sharing request call to the call server (S 109). In this instance, the contents sharing request call may include a telephone number and an address of the contact subscriber station.

However, when the contents sharing request call does not include them, the call server may request and receive them from the register server. The call server transmits the received contents sharing request call to the contents share server to receive a response (S111 , S115).

The contents share server requests a media means to drive the media means (S113). In this instance, the step of S113 is optional. The call server requests contents sharing from the contact subscriber station and receives a response (S117, S119). In this instance, various application data including a whiteboard, a picture board, web files, and a transparent picture board are transmitted between the subscriber station performing a call, and the various contents are shared and controlled during the call.

The data session is established between the subscriber stations by the contents share server, and the contents sharing function is performed by the data session (S121).

When the subscriber station performing a call terminates contents sharing or calling and the user presses an end button to transmit a bye message to the call server, the call and the data session are terminated (S123,

S125).

FIG. 5 shows a functional block diagram of a terminal for providing contents sharing during a voice call according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the subscriber station 100 realizing contents sharing includes a storage unit 110, a register unit 120, a voice call processor 130, and a contents sharing processor 140. The storage unit 110 stores a telephone number assigned from the PSTN or CDMA network and the IP address assigned from the IP network.

The register unit 120 requests to register the telephone number and the IP address from a server for mapping and registering the telephone number and the IP address stored in the storage unit 110. When a contents sharing request is generated, the register unit 120 requests and receives the

IP address of the contact subscriber station performing a call from the server.

In this instance, the contact subscriber station is a terminal having registered the telephone number assigned from the PSTN or CDMA network and the IP address assigned from the IP network.

The voice call processor 130 is connected to the PSTN or CDMA network and performs a voice call by using the telephone number assigned

from the PSTN or CDMA network.

The contents sharing processor 140 performs a contents sharing request and contents sharing function by using the IP address registered to the server connected to the IP network and assigned through the IP network.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a terminal for providing contents sharing during a voice call according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, the subscriber station has a CDMA or PSTN network interface for a voice call and an IP network interface for contents sharing.

In this instance, the CDMA or PSTN network interface may include a CDMA modem control driver and a CDMA modem, and is connected through

a GUI application (a user interface application) and an API interface.

The IP network interface for contents sharing may include a SIP protocol, a TCP/IP protocol, and a wireless modem. The IP network interface may include a function for registering a telephone number and an IP address to the register server, and a program for acquiring an IP address of the contact subscriber station for establishing a data session for controlling and mutually controlling the contents during a voice call.

According to the contents sharing system 200 described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, various contents, that is, media files, documents, web pages, web catalogs, and images can be shared between the callers during a voice call through the CDMA or PSTN. Also, the job for one of the callers to turn on the page of the shared contents, draw a picture, or describe a comment on the contents displayed page can be shared as well as the job for both the callers to simultaneously view the contents displayed page.

Further, according to the above-described contents sharing system, the contents traffic is shared between the callers with reference to the contents share server, and hence, end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) can be offered. The above-described embodiment of the present invention is not only realized by the method and apparatus, but by a program for realizing the functions corresponding to the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention or a recording medium having recorded the program, which will be easily realized by a person skilled in the art from the above descriptions of the embodiment. While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

According to the above-noted configuration, various contents can be shared as well as the original voice calling function so that the problem of insufficient communication between the callers through the voice calling is overcome.

Further, it is cost-saving to perform a voice call by using the CDMA or PSTN since it requires no further network investment cost, and particularly, realization of the VoIP on the wireless network overcomes the cost, quality, and inefficiency, and since the call is performed while the contents are shared on the terminal, the user can take counseling or do shopping while viewing an online catalog or can order a desired product while the user and a recipient both view a menu displayed on the ordering screen. In addition, conference or education sharing visual data as well as voice can be performed in a multi-user call.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A contents sharing system comprising: a register server for mapping a telephone number of a subscriber station assigned from a first communication network and an IP address of a subscriber station assigned from a second communication network, and registering and controlling the mapped result; a call server for processing a contents sharing request call received

from the subscriber station; and a contents share server for receiving the contents sharing request call from the call server, establishing a data session for contents sharing between the contact subscriber stations performing a voice call through the first communication network by using an IP address registered to the register server, and controlling a contents sharing function in the data session.

2. The contents sharing system of claim 1 , wherein the register server comprises: a subscriber authenticator for receiving subscriber station information from the subscriber station and authenticating the subscriber; and a subscriber register unit for mapping a telephone number assigned from the first communication network received from the subscriber station having performed the subscriber authentication by the subscriber authenticator and an IP address assigned from the second communication network, registering the mapped result, extracting an IP address mapped with the telephone number of the contact subscriber station performing a voice call with the requested subscriber station from the subscriber station, and providing the extracted IP address.

3. The contents sharing system of claim 2, wherein the subscriber register unit comprises: a storage module for storing a telephone number assigned to the subscriber station from the first communication network and a mapped IP address assigned from the second communication network; a register module for receiving the IP address assigned from the second communication network from the subscriber station, registering the IP address to the storage module and updating the same; and a mapping module for receiving a telephone number of a contact subscriber station performing a call with the subscriber station from the subscriber station, mapping a corresponding IP address, and providing the mapped IP address.

4. The contents sharing system of claim 3, wherein the register server uses a selected one of the transmission control protocol (TCP) application protocol and the session initiation protocol (SIP) method when mapping, registering, and updating the telephone number and the IP address of the subscriber station.

5. The contents sharing system of claim 1 , further comprising a contents convert server for converting a file size and a format of contents to be shared and compressing the converted file size and the format in consideration of performance and screen size of the subscriber station.

6. The contents sharing system of claim 5, wherein the contents share server determines and establishes a contents sharing method and a contents converting status in consideration of a contents storage position, a contents file type, and performance and file size of the subscriber station.

7. The contents sharing system of claim 6, further comprising a media server for performing a function for sharing and controlling multimedia contents when the contents to be shared are the multimedia contents.

8. The contents sharing system of claim 1 , wherein the call server checks whether the contents sharing request call received from the subscriber station includes an IP address of the contact subscriber station performing a voice call, and when the contents sharing request call does not include the IP address, the call server requests an IP address from the register server to receive the same and transmits the same to the contents share server.

9. The contents sharing system of any one of claim 1 to claim 8, wherein the first communication network uses a circuit switching system, and the second communication network uses a packet switching system, and the first communication network includes a wired/wireless network including the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and a mobile communication network including the code division multiple access (CDMA).

10. A contents sharing method comprising: (a) receiving a contents sharing request call; (b) checking whether the contents sharing request call includes an IP address of a subscriber station;

(c) establishing a data session for contents sharing by using the IP address when the contents sharing request call is found to include the IP address of a subscriber station; (d) acquiring an IP address of the contact subscriber station, and establishing a data session for contents sharing by using the acquired IP address when the contents sharing request call is not found to include the IP address of a subscriber station; and

(e) providing a contents sharing function through the established data session.

11. The contents sharing method of claim 10, wherein (e) comprises: (e-1) determining and establishing a contents sharing method and a contents converting status in consideration of the subscriber station's contents storage position, a contents file type, and the subscriber station's performance and screen size; and (e-2) performing a function for converting and compressing a file size and a format of the contents to be shared according to the determination and establishment.

12. The contents sharing method of claim 11 , wherein (e-2) comprises checking whether the contents to be shared are multimedia contents, and performing a contents process appropriate for the multimedia contents.

13. The contents sharing method of claim 10, further comprising,

before (a), (a-1 ) mapping the telephone number assigned from a first communication network received from the subscriber station and an IP address assigned from a second communication network, registering the mapped result, and updating the registered result.

14. The contents sharing method of claim 13, further comprising, before (a-1 ), (a-2) receiving subscriber station information from the subscriber station and authenticating the subscriber.

15. The contents sharing method of claim 14, further comprising,

after (a-2), receiving an IP address request of the contact subscriber station performing a voice call with the subscriber station from the subscriber station, the IP address request including a telephone number of the contact subscriber station performing a call with the subscriber station; and searching and providing an IP address mapped on the telephone number of the contact subscriber station.

16. A subscriber station comprising: a storage unit for storing a telephone number assigned from a first communication network and an IP address assigned from a second communication network; a register unit for requesting to register the telephone number and the IP address from a server for mapping and registering the telephone number and the IP address stored in the storage unit, and requesting and receiving an

IP address of a contact subscriber station performing a voice call from the server when a contents sharing request is generated, the contact subscriber station being a subscriber station having registered the telephone number assigned from the first communication network and the IP address assigned from the second communication network; a voice call processor for performing a voice call by using the telephone number assigned from the first communication network; and a contents sharing processor for performing a contents sharing request and a contents sharing function by using the IP address registered to the server through the second communication network.

17. The subscriber station of claim 16, wherein the register unit requests the server to update the registered IP address when changing the IP address assigned from the second communication network.

18. The subscriber station of claim 16, wherein a contents sharing selection button for the user's contents sharing request is provided externally.

19. The subscriber station of claim 16, wherein the voice call processor is connected to a wired/wireless network including the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and a mobile communication network including code division multiple access (CDMA), the contents sharing processor is connected to the Internet protocol (IP) network, and the contents sharing processor uses a selected one of the transmission control protocol (TCP) application protocol and the session initiation protocol (SIP) method.