Multi-service content broadcast for user controlled selective service receive

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9826503-B2
Application number	US-201414526982-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 29, 2014
Priority date	Jun 9, 2006
Publication date	Nov 21, 2017
Grant date	Nov 21, 2017

Abstract

A multimedia communications system for broadcast distribution of multimedia content to mobile terminals over a cellular network is disclosed. The disclosed system accesses content providers, receives corresponding content information associated with provider content, and broadcasts content information to user terminals. The user terminals include software and/or hardware for receiving the content information and enabling a user to subscribe to one or more content items. Once a subscription is in place for one or more content items, corresponding content IDs are sent to and stored at the terminal. The system facilitates broadcast of the content. Content IDs stored in the terminal and broadcasted content IDs are compared. Only the content associated with the matching content IDs is then downloaded to the user terminal for storage and/or presentation. Content associated with unmatched content IDs is prevented from being received.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A mobile communications device comprising:
a processor; and
a memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
receiving, from a multimedia communications service by way of a regular cell of a cluster of cells of a cellular communications network, multimedia content identity information associated with multimedia content provided by a service provider;
initiating, responsive to a match between the multimedia content identity information received and user-selected multimedia content identity information, a handover from a regular cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network to a super cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network;
receiving the multimedia content from the multimedia communications service by way of the super cell after the handover to the super cell, wherein the handover is a first handover; and
initiating, responsive to receiving the multimedia content, a second handover from the super cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network to a regular cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network.

2. The mobile communications device of claim 1 , wherein a service area of the super cell covers a service area of a plurality of regular cells of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network.

3. The mobile communications device of claim 1 , wherein the super cell is collocated with a regular cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network.

4. The mobile communications device of claim 1 , wherein receiving the multimedia content comprises receiving one type of multimedia content from the multimedia communications service as part of a session.

5. The mobile communications device of claim 1 , wherein receiving the multimedia content comprises receiving multiple types of multimedia content from the multimedia communications service as part of a session.

6. The mobile communications device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise granting, responsive to a user selection, access to the multimedia communications service.

7. The mobile communications device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise storing, responsive to a subscription to the multimedia content, subscription data, corresponding to the subscription, as the user-selected multimedia content identity information.

8. The mobile communications device of claim 1 , wherein initiating the handover to the super cell comprises changing to a packet connect state and connecting to a network-specified point-to-multipoint bearer.

9. The mobile communications device of claim 1 , wherein receiving the multimedia content identity information associated with the multimedia content of the service provider is performed responsive to creation of a subscription to the multimedia content of the service provider.

10. The mobile communications device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise initiating, responsive to a session identification received from the multimedia communications service, a displaying of icons on the mobile communications device.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a mobile communications device, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
receiving, from a multimedia communications service by way of a regular cell of a cluster of cells of a cellular communications network, multimedia content identity information associated with multimedia content provided by a service provider;
initiating, responsive to a match between the multimedia content identity information received and user-selected multimedia content identity information, a handover from a regular cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network to a super cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network;
receiving, responsive to the handover to the super cell, the multimedia content from the multimedia communications service by way of the super cell, wherein the handover is a first handover; and
initiating, responsive to receiving the multimedia content, a second handover from the super cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network to a regular cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network.

12. A multimedia communications service system, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
receiving, from a service provider, multimedia identity content information associated with multimedia content,
initiating, by a regular cell of a cluster of cells of a cellular communications network, a transmission of the multimedia content identity information to a mobile communications device; and
initiating, responsive to a handover by the mobile communications device from a regular cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network to a super cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network, a transmission of the multimedia content to the mobile communications device by the super cell, wherein the handover to the super cell is initiated responsive to a match between the multimedia content identity information transmitted and user-selected multimedia content identity information stored on the mobile communications device, wherein the handover is a first handover, and wherein a second handover from the super cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network to a regular cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network is initiated by the mobile communications device responsive to the mobile communications device receiving the multimedia content.

13. The multimedia communications service system of claim 12 , wherein the super cell covers a service area of a plurality of regular cells of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network.

14. The multimedia communications service system of claim 12 , wherein the super cell is collocated with a regular cell of the cluster of cells of the cellular communications network.

15. The multimedia communications service system of claim 12 , wherein initiating the transmission of the multimedia content comprises initiating a transmission of one type of multimedia content as part of a session.

16. The multimedia communications service system of claim 12 , wherein initiating the transmission of the multimedia content comprises initiating a transmission of multiple types of multimedia content as part of a session.

17. The multimedia communications service system of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise updating the multimedia content associated with the multimedia content identity information.

18. The multimedia communications service system of claim 12 , wherein initiating the transmission of the multimedia content identity information to the mobile communications device is performed responsive to a creation of a subscription to a multimedia communications service by the mobile communications device.

19. The multimedia communications service system of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise assigning, responsive to a creation of a subscription by the mobile communications device, a session identification to the mobile communications device.

Assignees

• At & T Mobility Ii Llc

Inventors

• Lee Bo
• Tong Yonghui

Classifications

• H04W72/30 Primary

  Resource management for broadcast services · CPC title

• H04W72/005 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W36/0011

  for data sessions of end-to-end connection · CPC title

• H04W36/04

  Reselecting a cell layer in multi-layered cells · CPC title

• H04W4/06 Primary

  Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services · CPC title