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METHOD TO EXCHANGE APPLICATION SPECIFIC INFORMATION
FOR OUTGOING CALLS BETWEEN TWO MOBILE DEVICES
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Patent Application
No. 12/893,498 filed September 29, 2010 and European Application No.
10182009.0
filed September 29, 2010.
BACKGROUND
[0001] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" and "UE" might in some
cases
refer to mobile devices such as mobile telephones, mobile devices, personal
digital
assistants, handheld or laptop computers, and similar devices that have
telecommunications capabilities. Such a UE might consist of a UE and its
associated
removable memory module, such as but not limited to a Universal Integrated
Circuit
Card (UICC) that includes a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) application, a
Universal
Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) application, or a Removable User Identity
Module
(R-UIM) application. Alternatively, such a UE might consist of the device
itself without
such a module. In other cases, the term "UE" might refer to devices that have
similar
capabilities but that are not transportable, such as desktop computers, set-
top boxes,
or network appliances. The term "UE" can also refer to any hardware or
software
component that can terminate a communications session for a user. Also, the
terms
"user equipment," "UE," "user agent," "UA," "user device" and "user node"
might be
used synonymously herein.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0002] For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is
now
made to the following brief description, taken in connection with the
accompanying
drawings and detailed description, wherein like reference numerals represent
like
parts.
[0003] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communications system that
allows
two UEs to communicate with each other according to an embodiment of the
disclosure.
[0004] Figure 2 is a protocol diagram of a signaling scheme between two
UEs to
display and share application specific information during a communications
session
according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0005] Figure 3 is a flowchart of a method for displaying application
information
during a communications session between two UEs according to an embodiment of
the disclosure.
[0006] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a method for displaying application
information
during a communications session between two UEs according to another
embodiment
of the disclosure.
[0007] Figure 5 illustrates a processor and related components suitable
for
implementing the several embodiments of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0008] It should be understood at the outset that although illustrative
implementations of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure are
provided
below, the disclosed systems and/or methods may be implemented using any
number
of techniques, whether currently known or in existence. The disclosure should
in no
way be limited to the illustrative implementations, drawings, and techniques
illustrated
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below, including the exemplary designs and implementations illustrated and
described
herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with
their
full scope of equivalents.
[0009] When using a UE, e.g. a mobile device, a user may initiate an
outgoing call
to discuss an application on the UE. For example, a first user may call or
chat with a
second user about a scheduled calendar event or a received email to discuss
the
calendar event or email. The first user and the second user may establish a
voice or
video call or a chat session to discuss a scheduled calendar event or a
received email
that may be displayed on the first UE. However, if the second user wishes to
view
information from the calendar event or email on a second UE, for example
during the
call or chat session, the second user may need to manually search and access
such
information on the second UE. Such a process may be time-consuming and cause
delays in such real-time communications sessions.
[0010] Disclosed herein is a method, device, and/or system for allowing
the second
user to view on a second UE an application or application information that is
discussed
between the users of the first and second devices and in some cases view the
same
application information viewed by the first user on the first UE during a real-
time
communications session, a call, or chat session. For example, a first UE may
send a
signal or message that indicates the application information to a second UE
during the
call setup time or perhaps other times during the communications session. The
first
UE may transmit the signal or message to the second UE via a session
initiation
protocol (SIP) to update the user interface of the second UE. While SIP is
used as an
exemplary protocol herein this disclosure is not limited to use with SIP and
other
signaling or communication protocols might also be used. The message may be
sent
from an application, for example, being displayed on the first UE and
subsequently
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used to display the same application or related application information on the
second
UE. Thus, the second user may access or view the application information, in a
relatively easy and fast manner, while discussing the information with the
first user.
[0011] Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of a radio access network (RAN)
100,
which may be a long-term evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), as described
in
the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), or other well known or after
developed networks. In this example, an LTE or LTE-A system might include an
Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) node B (or eNB),
a
wireless access point, or a similar component rather than a traditional base
station.
Figure 1 is exemplary and may have other components or arrangements in other
embodiments. In an embodiment, the RAN 100 may comprise at least one access
device 110 and at least one UE 120, which may be both located within a cell
130.
[0012] As used herein, the term "access device" refers to any component
of the
wireless network, such as a traditional base station, a wireless access point,
or an LTE
or LTE-A node B or eNB, that creates a geographical area of reception and
transmission coverage allowing a UE 120 or a relay node (not shown) to access
or
communicate with other components in a telecommunications system, such as
second
UE 120. In this document, the term "access node" and "access device" may be
used
interchangeably, but it is understood that an access node may comprise a
plurality of
hardware and software components.
[0013] The access device 110 may communicate with any UE 120 within the
same
cell 130, directly via a direct link, such as in a UTRAN. The cell 130 may be
a
geographical area of reception and transmission coverage. For instance, the
direct
link may be a point-to-point link established between the access device 110
and the
UE 120 and used to transmit and receive signals between the two.
Alternatively, the
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access devices 110 may communicate with any UE 120 in the same cell 130 over
shared links, such as in an E-UTRAN. For instance, the shared links may
comprise an
uplink shared channel and a downlink shared channel. Additionally, the access
devices 110 may communicate with other components or devices to provide for
the
components of the RAN 100 access to any other network 140, for instance using
similar or different network protocols or technologies. In an embodiment, the
UEs 120
may move about between different cells 130 and their communications may be
handed-over between the different cells 130, where the UEs 120 may communicate
with different access devices 110.
[0014] In some embodiments, the UEs 120 may communicate via a combination
of
wireless and wired networks. The networks may include the RAN 100, a Wireless
LAN (WLAN) network, an Ethernet based network, an Internet Protocol (IP) based
network, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) network, an Optical communications
network,
and/or any other wireless and wired networks that may be used to exchange
communications between the UEs 120. The communications between the UEs 120
may comprise voice and/or video calls, emails, text/media messages (e.g. using
Short
Message Service (SMS) or Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)), and/or any other
data or message exchanges.
[0015] The first UE 120 may establish a real-time communications session,
such
as a voice call with a second UE 120 or the first UE 120 may communicate via a
chat
session with the second UE 120. The call or chat session may be related to a
displayed application or application information, which may be discussed
between the
first user and the second user. For example, the first user and the second
user may
discuss a meeting scheduled in a calendar, a web page content, or an email
content
during the call or chat session. The displayed application may correspond to a
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calendar client, a web browser, or an email client. The application
information may
correspond to a scheduled meeting, a web page, or an email. In other
scenarios, the
two users may discuss some displayed application information, such as a Word
document or a Power Point slide during the communications session. In any of
the
real-time communication scenarios above, it may be advantageous to assist the
second user in readily identifying and then accessing or viewing the
application
information related to the call or chat session. This may be useful for many
reasons
including to reduce communications time and/or charges and improve or
facilitate
discussions.
[0016] In an embodiment, the first UE 120 may be configured to transmit to
the
second UE 120 a signal or message that indicates application specific
information as
part of a call, chat, or any other real-time communications session
established
between the first UE 130 and the second UE 120. In an embodiment, the
application
and/or related information may be previously shared between the first UE 120
and the
second UE 120 before establishing the communications session. For instance,
the
application and/or related information may be stored in both the first UE 120
and the
second UE 120, and hence may be indicated by the first UE 120 to the second UE
120
during the communications session. In another embodiment, the first UE 120 may
send the application and/or related information to the second UE 120 during
the
communications session between the first UE 120 and the second UE 120. In some
instances the message may indicate the location of the information, perhaps as
being
located on the second UE 120 or elsewhere such as on a remote server. The
application information may be indicated or sent by the first UE 120 to the
second UE
120 in a SIP message or signal or any other suitable communication protocol or
message. The message may be sent by the first UE 120 as part of a call between
the
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first UE 120 and the second UE 120 or separately using a different protocol
than that
used to establish the call. For example, the first UE 120 and the second UE
120 may
establish a call using a voice channel or a first protocol. Subsequently, the
first UE
120 may send a SIP other type of message to the second UE 120 using a second
protocol.
[0017] Further, the first UE 120 may transmit the signal or message to
the second
UE 120 using an application displayed on the first UE 120, such as a web
browser, an
email client, or a calendar client. The application may be used to send the
signal or
message during the setup time of the communications session or subsequently
during
the established communications session. For instance, the indication message
may
be sent using SIP INVITE message in the RAN 100, such as an Unstructured
Supplementary Service Data (USSD), a SMS, or an IP message. The indication
message may specify the application and/or related information that assists
the UE
120 in locating and retrieving the application and/or related information. The
indication
message may comprise information, such as a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID)
or
code, that may be used to locate and display the application information on
the second
UE 120 using the appropriate application. For instance, the GUID and/or code
in the
indication message may be used to update the user interface (e.g. screen) of
the
second UE 120 to display the same information or application that is displayed
on the
first UE 120. Thus, the two users may view and discuss the same information
during
the real-time communications session. In some embodiments, only the second
user of
the second UE120 may have an interest in displaying and viewing the relevant
information, for example during the call.
[0018] In some embodiments, the UE 120 may send a GUID without
application
specific information to the second UE 120. The GUID may be generated, e.g. by
the
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first UE 120, using the Application Name, Subject, and/or any other criteria,
to obtain
unique GUID that is associated with a specific application. The GUID may be
generated using MD5, SHA-256, SHA-512, or any other known algorithm using
application specific data such as Application Name, Subject, etc. For example,
the
message may comprise:
<AppData> ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP <AppDATA> , where ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP is
the unique GUID that identifies a specific application. Thus, the second UE
120 may
compare the GUID to a list of values to determine which application is
indicated by the
first UE 120.
[0019] Figure 2 illustrates a signaling scheme 200 between two UEs 120 that
allow
the two corresponding users to view and discuss application specific
information, e.g.
during a call, a chat session, or any other real-time communications session
201.
First, the first UE 120 and the second UE 120 may establish the communications
session, which may be initiated by either one of the two users. For example,
the first
user may make a call (such as a phone call) to the second user to discuss some
details about a meeting that is scheduled on the first user's calendar with
the second
user, which may be an organizer or participant of the meeting. Alternatively,
the call
may be initiated by the second user.
[0020] Next, the first UE 120 may send an indication message 202, for
example
using SIP messaging, to the second UE 120 to identify the application specific
information. The first user may send the indication message 202 from the first
UE
120, for example by forwarding an email, a web address, or a scheduled task to
the
second UE 120. Although, the indication message 202 in Fig. 2 is sent after
initiating
the communication session 201 (e.g. the voice call), the application specific
information may be sent in the indication message 202 at any time prior to the
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communication session 201. In some cases, the indication message 202 may be
sent
from an application displayed on the first UE 120. For example, the first user
may
send a SMS or IF message to the second user using a calendar client
application that
shows the scheduled meeting on the first UE 120. However in other cases, the
first
user may send the indication message 202 or the application specific
information
without displaying the information or the related application on the first UE
120.
Subsequently, the second UE 120 may receive the indication message 202 and use
the information in the indication message 202 to display the scheduled meeting
information to the second user. For example, the second UE 120 may process the
indication message 202 and use its content to open a calendar client similar
to the first
UE 120 and/or display the scheduled meeting information.
[0021] In another example, the first user may call the second user to
discuss email
related information, for example in reply to an email or message from the
second user.
The first user may then send an indication message to the second user that
comprises
the application specific information, such as the email content, and/or a
message
reference identifier (ID), which may then be used by the second user to update
the
display of the second UE 120 with the email content. In another scenario, the
first
user may call the second user to discuss a web page content, which may then be
displayed on the second UE 120. The first user may send the indication message
202
to the second user, which may be used to update the screen on the second UE
120
and display the web page content or related information to the second user. In
this
case the SIP message might contain the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the
web
page, or might contain the actual web page HTML, with appropriate mechanisms
on
the second UE 120 to launch a browser to view the content.
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[0022] In an embodiment, the signaling scheme 200 may be used to send the
indication message 202 to a plurality of UEs 120. For instance, the first UE
120 may
send the indication message 202 to a plurality of second UEs 120 to identify
the
application specific information and update the displays of the second UEs
120, as
described above. Alternatively, a group of UEs 120, e.g. in a communication
session,
may receive the indication message 202, display the indicated information on
their
user interface, and/or forward the received indication message 202 to another
UE 120
to update its screen, in the manner described above. For example, a plurality
of users
in a conference call session may receive the same or different indication
messages
202 on their UEs 120 from any other UE(s) 120. The UEs 120 that receive the
indication message 202 may then use the application specific information in
the
message to display to the users the indicated information, e.g. email,
document, web
content, pictures, etc.
[0023] The application specific information indicated in the indication
message 202
may be any type of data that is used to display or play content on a user
interface of
the second UE 120. For instance, the data may be any binary data that indicate
an
application or content, which may be stored on the second UE 120, such as a
GUID
that is used to find an email stored on the UE 120. Alternatively, the data
may be
used by the second UE 120 to obtain the application specific information, such
as a
web address (e.g. URL) that is used to display a web page on the second UE
120.
The application specific information may indicate text or visual content that
may be
displayed on the second UE 120, e.g. during a voice or conference call.
Additionally
or alternatively, the application specific information may indicate voice,
and/or video
data that may be displayed during a chat session, such as using instant
messaging
(IM). For example, the data may comprise emails, web pages, presentation
slides,
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word documents, pictures, voice recordings, sound or music content, video
clips, any
other media, or combinations thereof.
[0024] Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment of a method 300 for displaying
information for an application on the second UE 120 that may be indicated by
the first
UE 120. The method 300 may be implemented at the first UE 120. At step 310,
the
first UE 120 may generate or select application specific information that the
first user
wishes to discuss with the second user. For example, the first UE 120 may
generate a
GUID or code that indicates an email or a scheduled task or meeting that was
received from the second UE 120. Alternatively, the first UE 120 may select a
URL
that indicates web content. In one embodiment, the first UE 120 may also start
or
display the application specific information on its user interface or display
screen, for
instance upon a prompt from the first user. For example, the first user may
open a
calendar client, an email client, or a web page browser on the first UE 120
before
initiating, upon initiation of, or during a communications session with the
second user,
such as a voice or video call, to discuss application related information with
the second
user.
[0025] At step 320, the first UE may send an indication message to the
second UE
that indicates the application specific information to the second UE. For
instance, the
first UE 120 may send a SIP INVITE message to the second UE 120 that may
indicate
the application specific information on the first UE 120. In some cases, the
indication
message may be sent from an application displayed on the first UE 120, such as
using
a send or transmit option provided by the application. That is the calendar
application
might provide a drop-down menu that includes the option of sending a message
about
a specific calendar event associated with a call about to be initiated or a
preexisting
call. The message, such as a SIP message, may comprise an encoded indication
of
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the application information, which may invoke or trigger the display of the
application
or related information at the second UE 120.
[0026] In an embodiment, the application information may be embedded in a
SIP
message in the following format:
<AppData> ApplicationName:GU I D:Subject</APPData>,
where ApplicationName indicates the name of the application, GUID identifies
the
application and/or the application information, and Subject comprises the
application
information content. The GUID may be obtained or calculated using different
algorithms for different applications. For example, a calendar application may
use the
start/end time to represent the GUID and an email application may use a
reference ID
or a hash of certain fields to represent the GUID. For example, the SIP
message may
comprise embedded metadata associated with the application information, such
as:
<AppData> MIME:1234567891011121314:Re: Plans Tonight</APPData> or
<AppData> EMAI L:1234567891011121314: Re: Plans Tonight</APPData>.
[0027] In another embodiment, the first user may open an attachment, such
as
from a received email message, in the first UE 120 that comprises a meeting
request
before or after initiating a conference call with the second user. The first
user may
then send the application information related to the meeting request using SIP
signaling to the second user. The application information may have the
following
format:
<AppData> ICAL:Start Time/End Time: Attachment1-Slide 1</APPData> or
<AppData> Calendar Application Start Time/End Time: Attachment1-Slide
1</APPData>.
[0028] Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of another method 400 for
displaying
information on the second UE 120 that may be indicated by the first UE 120.
The
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method 400 may be implemented at the second UE 120. At step 410, the second UE
120 may receive an indication message from the first UE 120 that may indicate
the
application specific information to the second UE 120. For example, the second
UE
120 may receive a SIP message upon starting or during a phone call or a chat
session
with the first UE 120. In some cases, the application specific information may
be
requested by the second user from the first user. Upon receipt of the request
from the
second UE 120, the first UE 120 may indicate the application information in
the SIP
message and send the SIP message to the second UE 120.
[0029] At step 210, the second UE 120 may prompt the second user to
accept and
display the application information indicated in the indication message
received from
the first UE 120. For example, upon receiving the SIP message, the second UE
120
may display a message on its screen and wait for an input from the second user
to
display the application information on the screen of the second UE 120. If the
second
user decides to view the application information on the second UE 120, the
method
400 may proceed to step 430. Otherwise, the method 400 may proceed to step
440.
[0030] At step 430, the second UE 120 may display the application
information on
its screen, via a Graphical User Interface (GUI). For instance, the GUI may
transition
into a hybrid/split window view that shows both a view of the call details and
a second
view that includes the application or related information, such as the email
or calendar
content. The second UE 120 may use the information in the indication message
to
show or display a specified message, email, or any other application or
information in
the second window view. As such, both the first and second window views may be
opened on the second UE 120. For example, the first and second widow views may
be cascaded, tiled horizontally, tiled vertically, or arranged in any other
way on the
screen. In another embodiment, the GUI on the second UE 120 may transition
from
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the first call view into the second application view, e.g. while maintaining
the call with
the first UE 120.
[0031] Alternatively at step 440, the second UE 120 may not display the
application
or related information on its screen, e.g. according to second user's choice.
Thus, the
second user may continue the call session with the first user without updating
the
screen on the second UE 120.
[0032] The first UE 120, the second UE 120, and other components
described
above might include a processing component that is capable of executing
instructions
related to the actions described above. Figure 5 illustrates an example of a
system
500 that includes a processing component 510 suitable for implementing one or
more
embodiments disclosed herein. In addition to the processor 510 (which may be
referred to as a central processor unit or CPU), the system 500 might include
network
connectivity devices 520, random access memory (RAM) 530, read only memory
(ROM) 540, secondary storage 550, and input/output (I/O) devices 560. These
components might communicate with one another via a bus 570. In some cases,
some of these components may not be present or may be combined in various
combinations with one another or with other components not shown. These
components might be located in a single physical entity or in more than one
physical
entity. Any actions described herein as being taken by the processor 510 might
be
taken by the processor 510 alone or by the processor 510 in conjunction with
one or
more components shown or not shown in the drawing, such as a digital signal
processor (DSP) 502. Although the DSP 502 is shown as a separate component,
the
DSP 502 might be incorporated into the processor 510.
[0033] The processor 510 executes instructions, codes, computer programs,
or
scripts that it might access from the network connectivity devices 520, RAM
530, ROM
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540, or secondary storage 550 (which might include various disk-based systems
such
as hard disk, floppy disk, or optical disk). While only one CPU 510 is shown,
multiple
processors may be present. Thus, while instructions may be discussed as being
executed by a processor, the instructions may be executed simultaneously,
serially, or
otherwise by one or multiple processors. The processor 510 may be implemented
as
one or more CPU chips.
[0034] The network connectivity devices 520 may take the form of modems,
modem banks, Ethernet devices, universal serial bus (USB) interface devices,
serial
interfaces, token ring devices, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI)
devices, wireless
local area network (WLAN) devices, radio transceiver devices such as code
division
multiple access (CDMA) devices, GSM radio transceiver devices, worldwide
interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) devices, and/or other well-known
devices for connecting to networks. These network connectivity devices 520 may
enable the processor 510 to communicate with the Internet or one or more
telecommunications networks or other networks from which the processor 510
might
receive information or to which the processor 510 might output information.
The
network connectivity devices 520 might also include one or more transceiver
components 525 capable of transmitting and/or receiving data wirelessly.
[0035] The RAM 530 might be used to store volatile data and perhaps to
store
instructions that are executed by the processor 510. The ROM 540 is a non-
volatile
memory device that typically has a smaller memory capacity than the memory
capacity of the secondary storage 550. ROM 540 might be used to store
instructions
and perhaps data that are read during execution of the instructions. Access to
both
RAM 530 and ROM 540 is typically faster than to secondary storage 550. The
secondary storage 550 is typically comprised of one or more disk drives or
tape drives
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and might be used for non-volatile storage of data or as an over-flow data
storage
device if RAM 530 is not large enough to hold all working data. Secondary
storage
550 may be used to store programs that are loaded into RAM 530 when such
programs are selected for execution.
[0036] The I/O devices 560 may include liquid crystal displays (LCDs),
touch
screen displays, keyboards, keypads, switches, dials, mice, track balls, voice
recognizers, card readers, paper tape readers, printers, video monitors, or
other well-
known input devices. Also, the transceiver 525 might be considered to be a
component of the I/O devices 560 instead of or in addition to being a
component of the
network connectivity devices 520.
[0037] Various combinations of the components of the system 500,
including
memory, hardware, firmware, software or others may be referred to herein as a
"component".
[0038] In an embodiment a UE is provided. The UE comprising at least one
component configured to send an indication message that indicates application
information for a communications session, wherein the indication message
comprises
data to indicate application information to a recipient for display by the
recipient during
a communication session with the UE.
[0039] In another embodiment, a UE is provided. The UE comprising at
least one
component configured to receive an indication message that indicates
application
information for communications session, wherein the indication message
comprises
data to indicate application information to a recipient for display by the
recipient during
a communication session with the UE.
[0040] In another embodiment, a method implemented on a UE is provided.
The
method comprising generating data for application information for a
communications
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session, and sending an indication message that indicates the application
information
for use to display the application information by a recipient of the
indication message
during the communications session.
[0041] In another embodiment a method implemented on a UE is provided. The
method comprising receiving an indication message that indicates application
information for a communications session, and displaying the application
information
on a user interface of the UE during the communications session.
[0042] While several embodiments have been provided in the present
disclosure, it
should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may be embodied in
many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the
present
disclosure. The present examples are to be considered as illustrative and not
restrictive, and the intention is not to be limited to the details given
herein. For
example, the various elements or components may be combined or integrated in
another system or certain features may be omitted, or not implemented.
[0043] Also, techniques, systems, subsystems and methods described and
illustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may be combined
or
integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, or methods without
departing
from the scope of the present disclosure. Other items shown or discussed as
coupled
or directly coupled or communicating with each other may be indirectly coupled
or
communicating through some interface, device, or intermediate component,
whether
electrically, mechanically, or otherwise. Other examples of changes,
substitutions,
and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could be made
without
departing from the scope disclosed herein.
17
