Ptt service system of method thereof

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

p-0002The present invention relates to PTT technique in telecommunication field, particularly relates to a Push-To-Talk service system and method thereof.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

p-0003Currently, a Push-To-Talk (PTT) technique brings brand-new experiences to mobile phone users. By this technique, mobile phone users can establish their own users lists and groups freely, the state of each user within the group can be displayed on the mobile phone, communication in the group can be realized, and the building of groups is able to transcend the area limitation so that mobile phone users in different cities can communicate with each other within a same group. Therefore, the PTT technique has been widely applied by part of the mobile telephone users.

p-0004US patent document WO2004086715 “VOICE AND MULTIMEDIA DISTRIBUTION USING PUSH-TO-TALK (PTT) SUBCRIBERS' GROUP” provides a distribution method of voice and multimedia information, in which, users can realize distribution of voice or multimedia message within group through a application server composed of two modules, i.e. PTT Module and Groups module. A user or a content provider defines a group for a group of users in the Groups module of the application server. When the content provider wants to send news information, stock information, whether forecast, sports information and commercial information etc. to the group, the content provider sends the voice or multimedia message to the application server, and then the application server sends the message to the registered users.

p-0005US patent document WO2004075581 “A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SETTING APPLICATION SETTINGS FOR A PUSH-TO-TALK SERVICE” provides a realization method of push-to-talk service, in which, a user can communicate with at least another one user using PTT service through a PTT-server providing PPT service in multimedia system, thereby realizing PTT service in a multimedia system.

p-0006US patent document US 2004224710 “system and method for providing support services in push to talk communication platforms” provides a realization method of push-to-talk service, in which, a PTT client sends a request to PTT Server, then PTT Server forwards the request to a so-called high level client PTT application server, after the PTT application server finishes processing the user request, it sends a response to the client via PTT Server.

p-0007US patent document US2004192364 “Method and apparatus for accessing a network computer to establish a push-to-talk session” describes a method for using PTT service, in which, a wireless terminal which has registered on push-to-talk service prepares to initiate PTT session with a user on a common data network (IP network) which has not registered on the push-to-talk service, or a registered mobile user sends a unique identification of target user to PTT server, then PTT server searches the user's address on the common data network according to the unique identification, and forwards the request of the registered user to the user on the common data network.

p-0008US patent document WO2004017651 “Push-to-talk/cellular networking system” discloses the existing push-to-talk technique, in which, a mobile user connects to a dispatch server through mobile network and IP network, after mobile user pushes a PTT button to send PTT service request to the dispatch server, the dispatch server sends the PTT service request to another or a group of users through IP network and mobile network, thereby realizing PTT service.

p-0009Basically, all the above patents relating to PTT service help the user to establish PTT service through an application server processing a request sent from PTT user, and then distributing the request. This way of realizing PTT service through an application server is not adaptive for large-scale application, and its network distribution form is not flexible. Therefore, a PTT service system based on separated carrying and calling is provided, which not only has flexible distribution, but also is adaptive for large-scale application. Up to now, there is no such existing technique found that can realize the above functions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

p-0010The technical problem to be solved by this invention is to provide a PTT service system and method thereof, thereby enabling the application of PTT service not limit to mobile users only, and realizing various networking forms.

p-0011In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a PTT service system, including a user terminal equipment and an application server, with characterized in further including a control equipment and a gateway equipment, in which:

p-0012said user terminal equipment supports PTT service, and connects with said application server, said control equipment and said gateway equipment by access network;

p-0013said application server connects with said access network and said control equipment by application server access protocol, and builds relating information of users groups and lists by communicating with said user terminal equipment and stores and manages them;

p-0014said control equipment is for providing establishment of signaling message for said user terminal equipment, distributing the signaling message to other terminal equipments in the group, and controlling said gateway equipment by media gateway control protocol;

p-0015said gateway equipment is for establishing a media stream channel with said user terminal equipment according to control signaling sent by said control equipment, and distributing the media stream sent by the user terminal equipment having a right of speaking to other user terminal equipment in the group.

p-0016Further, the above PTT service system has the following feature: said user terminal equipment is anyone or several of the terminal equipments of fixed user, soft phone user, mobile user, wireless local area network user and handset phone user supporting PTT service.

p-0017Further, the above PTT service system has the following feature: said user and said access network belong to a same operator.

p-0018Further, the above PTT service system has the following feature: said PTT service system further includes users and access networks belonging to different operators, which are accessed in by inter-network exchange gateway.

p-0019Further, the above PTT service system has the following feature: said control equipment controls one or more gateway equipments, and authenticates said user terminal equipment by using user information of said application server.

p-0020In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a method for realizing PTT service, including the following steps of:

p-0021(a) a source user selecting target group users, and sending a request of establishing PTT service to a control equipment through an access network;

p-0022(b) said control equipment receiving the request and authenticating the source user, after passing the authentication, distributing a call request of establishing PTT service to the target group users through the access network;

p-0023(c) said control equipment requesting related network equipment to distribute resource for the source user and target group users, and after receiving success response from at least a part of target group users, returning a requesting response message to the source user;

p-0024(d) said user terminal equipment and related gateway equipment accomplishing the resource distribution, after at least a part of target group users responding, the source user and the target users establishing a media stream channel through the access network and the gateway equipment, the gateway equipment distributing the media stream sent by the source user to the respective connected target group users;

p-0025(e) when the group users are in session, said control equipment transmitting and distributing signaling message between the group users, said gateway equipment receiving the media stream sent from the user terminal equipment having a right of speaking through the media stream channel built, and distributing the media stream to other user terminal equipment in the group;

p-0026(f) after the session is over, said control equipment, gateway equipment and user terminal equipment releasing the related resource occupied by the PTT service.

p-0027Further, the above method for realizing PTT service has the following feature: in said step (a), the source user acquires current contract list from the application server, and selects the target group users of the present PTT service from the above list.

p-0028Further, the above method for realizing PTT service has the following feature: in said step (b), said control equipment authenticates the source user through inquiring the application server for the configuration information of the source user.

p-0029Further, the above method for realizing PTT service has the following feature: in said step (b), when the group users connect with two or more gateway equipments respectively, the control equipment selects a gateway equipment from the above multiple gateway equipments which connects with the most users of the group users, and establishes the media stream channel with the group users.

p-0030Further, the above method for realizing PTT service has the following feature: in the process of distributing resources, said control equipment acquires the resource allocation condition from the gateway equipment, then notifies the resource allocation condition to the source user and target group users, and acquires the resource allocation condition of the PTT service of this time by the source user and destination user from the source user and destination user.

p-0031The technical effects of the present invention lie in that: the PTT service system of the present invention employs the control and carrying separation technique, which makes the PTT service system of this form have advantages in many aspects. The present invention overcomes the shortcoming of existing PTT system by fully using the technical feature of control and media being separated each other, thereby realizing the enhanced PTT service function, providing convenience for operators to construct various and flexible PTT networks according to the specific geographical factors and the density of PTT service users, performing the second development according to the market requirements, supporting more future service features, and also solving the problem of realizing the PTT service across networks. The present invention has the following features:

p-0032Firstly, there is great flexibility in network deploying. Generally speaking, most PTT service groups are centralized in one region, only few part of them locate in different regions, therefore, the PTT session media is also centralized in one region. By employing the technique of calling and carrying separated each other, the server for processing PTT service is divided into control equipment and gateway equipment; through the form of one control equipment controlling several gateway equipments, the gateway equipments are distributed into different areas, and the gateway equipments are collectively controlled by one or more control equipments, thereby the media stream delay in packet network and the traffic in packet network can be reduced, and disaster-tolerance in different area can also be realized, therefore avoiding the situation that the PTT service is unable to operate due to the collapse of one PTT service server. For example, during the initial stage of construction, there are few PTT users, a city is usually a non-dense city, therefore, it is possible to set the control equipment and gateway equipment in central city, and to set gateway equipments in the peripheral cities, and the PTT service is realized through the control equipment in central city controlling the gateway equipments in peripheral cities; with the expansion of city scale, the central city becomes dense city, so the PTT service can be realized by employing conjugated control equipments and gateway equipments in central city, and can also be realized by employing multiple control equipments and gateway equipments, in the peripheral cities, control equipment or only the gateway equipments can be set according to actual conditions. Thus, it can meet the requirements for distributing network in initial stage, and at the same time, it can meet the requirements for increased scale and increased users.

p-0033Furthermore, the present system employs the technique of control and carrying separated each other, thereby not only realizing the service of Push-to-talk in mobile communication, but also expanding its application to the platforms of WLAN, PHS, fixed user and soft phone, making the group users being diverse, bringing about convenience for the user, and improving the market competitive power of the network operator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

p-0034<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is the system diagram for realizing the PTT service of present invention;

p-0035<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is the first embodiment of present invention, describing the system diagram for realizing PTT service when users belong to the same operator;

p-0036<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> is the second embodiment of present invention, describing the system diagram for realizing PTT service when users belong to different operators;

p-0037<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> is the third embodiment of present invention, describing the system diagram for realizing PTT service when one control equipment controls several gateway equipments;

p-0038<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is the flowchart of the method in the embodiments of the present invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

p-0039Next, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail in combination with drawings.

p-0040The system of present invention is a PTT service system employing the technique of calling and carrying separated each other with its system principle being shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, which is adaptive for fixed user, soft phone user, mobile user, WLAN user and PHS user supporting PTT service to establish group relations; the system also supports the operators who operated for one or several types of the users; for the users in different networks, group relations can also be established through the negotiation between the network operators. Essentially speaking, the present invention realizes the PTT service system carried in full network by employing the manner of control and media separated each other.

p-0041As shown in the drawings, the system is mainly composed of control equipment <b>110</b>, gateway equipment <b>120</b>, application server <b>130</b> and user terminal equipment <b>200</b>, in which, the user terminal equipment <b>200</b> is connected to the control equipment <b>110</b>, the gateway equipment <b>120</b> and the application server <b>130</b> through wired or wireless access network <b>150</b>, the application server <b>130</b> is connected to the access network <b>150</b> and control equipment <b>110</b> through application server access protocol, wherein:

p-0042The control equipment <b>110</b> is used for authenticating the user terminal equipment, providing the establishment of signaling message, distributing the signaling message to other user terminal equipments within the group, and controlling the gateway equipment <b>120</b> through the media gateway control protocol;

p-0043The gateway equipment <b>120</b> is used for establishing media stream channel with user terminal equipment according to the control signaling sent from the control equipment, and distributing the media stream sent from a certain user terminal equipment to other user terminal equipments within the group;

p-0044The application server <b>130</b> is used for interacting with user terminal equipment <b>200</b>, and establishing, storing and managing the user group and related list information;

p-0045The user terminal equipment <b>200</b> includes fixed terminal user, soft phone user, mobile user, WLAN user, PHS user that support the PTT service, and it can belong to the same operator or different operators.

p-0046For the users of the same operator, no matter the operator carries one or two or even more networks, all of them can be realized by this system, the realizing manner is shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>, in which, all the various users of a same operator access the wired or wireless switch network <b>150</b> of the operator.

p-0047For the users of different operators, they are realized through such equipment as gateway, the realizing manner is shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>, in which, the access network B <b>152</b> which belongs to a different operator with the access network B<b>151</b> accesses access PTT system through inter-networking gateway <b>160</b>, and the application server <b>130</b>, control equipment <b>110</b> and gateway equipment <b>120</b> are all connected to the inter-networking gateway <b>160</b>.

p-0048The differences between the PTT service of the present invention and the existing PTT service are: the present PTT service system realizes the separation of PTT service control and carrying, realizes the operation in full network, enabling it not limited to the mobile network. Furthermore, by separating the control and carrying, the present PTT service system is able to deploy the number of the gateway equipments flexibly according to the density of the PTT user group and the distribution condition in central city and peripheral cities, realizing that one control equipment controls several gateway equipments. As shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref>, two gateway equipments <b>121</b> and <b>122</b> are connected to access network A <b>153</b> and access network B <b>154</b> respectively, and both are connected to the control equipment <b>110</b>. Certainly, the control equipment and gateway equipment can either be set one by one, or multiple to multiple.

p-0049<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is the basic flowchart of the embodiment of the present invention, including the following steps of:

p-0050Step <b>510</b>, the source user obtaining the current contact list from the application server in real time, selecting a group of users as the target group users, and pushing the PTT button to send a request for establishing PTT service to the control equipment through access network;

p-0051Step <b>520</b>, the control equipment inquiring for the source user attribute from the application server and authenticating the source user attribute after receiving the PTT service request, after the authentication being passed, requesting related gateway equipments to allocate resources for the source user and the target group users through distributing a call request of establishing PTT service to the target group users;

p-0052Step <b>530</b>, the control equipment sending a response message to the source users through access network after receiving response of success from all or part of the target group users;

p-0053Step <b>540</b>, the control equipment notifying the resource allocation condition obtained from related gateway equipment to the source user and target group users, and obtaining the resource allocation condition for the PTT service of this time from the source user and target group users;

p-0054Step <b>550</b>, after the resource allocation is accomplished and the target group users respond, the control equipment notifying the status to the source user, the source user and target group users establishing a media stream channel with gateway equipment through the access network, the gateway equipment distributing the media stream sent from the source user to each of the connected target group users, and performing the PTT talk.

p-0055Step <b>560</b>, in the session process of PTT service, sending and distributing the signaling message between the group users (including the source user and target group user) by the control equipment, the gateway equipment receiving the media stream sent from user terminal with the right of speaking, and distributes the media stream to other user terminal equipments in the group;

p-0056Step <b>570</b>, when the session is over, the control equipment, gateway equipment and user terminal releasing the related network and user resources occupied by the PTT service of this time.

p-0057In order to describe the PTT service visually, <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> shows the typical flowchart of realizing PTT service by user A <b>210</b> and user B <b>220</b>, <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> shows the typical flowchart of realizing PTT service by user A <b>210</b>, user B <b>220</b> and user C <b>230</b>, and <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> shows the typical flowchart of realizing PTT service by user A <b>210</b> and user C <b>230</b> and user D <b>240</b> which belong to different gateways.

p-0058First embodiment, user A <b>210</b> and user B <b>220</b> realize PTT service:

p-0059Firstly, the following basis conditions are assumed: <ul><li id="ul0001-0001" num="0000"><ul><li id="ul0002-0001" num="0059">both users A and B are users adaptive for the PTT service system.</li><li id="ul0002-0002" num="0060">user A adds user B etc. to its own group in the application server (<b>130</b>).</li><li id="ul0002-0003" num="0061">users A and B have no group call-in limitation.</li><li id="ul0002-0004" num="0062">network common resources (such as tone, number receiver etc.) are all in the equipment.</li><li id="ul0002-0005" num="0063">users A and B belong to a same operator.</li></ul></li></ul>

p-0060The major operation procedures include the following steps of:

p-0061S<b>101</b>, user A <b>210</b> pushing PTT button to initiate a request of establishing PTT service for user B <b>220</b> to control equipment <b>110</b> through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0062S <b>102</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> checking the attribute of user A <b>210</b> after receiving service request from user A <b>210</b>, after the authorization is passed, sending a request of establishing PTT service to user B <b>220</b> through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0063S<b>103</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying the gateway equipment <b>120</b> of the request that user A <b>210</b> asks for establishing the PTT service, and ordering the gateway equipment <b>120</b> to allocate corresponding resource for this session and report resource allocation situation;

p-0064S<b>104</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying the gateway <b>120</b> of the request of establishing PTT service with user B <b>220</b>, and ordering the gateway equipment <b>120</b> to allocate corresponding session resources and report the resource allocation situation;

p-0065S <b>105</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> responding to the request of establishing PTT service to user A <b>210</b> through the access network <b>150</b> after receiving the success response for the request of establishing PTT service from user B <b>220</b>;

p-0066S<b>106</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user B <b>220</b> that the resource required for establishing the session has been allocated successfully through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0067S<b>107</b>, user terminal A <b>210</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> that the resource has been allocated successfully through access network <b>150</b> after receiving a request response from the control equipment <b>110</b>;

p-0068S <b>108</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> that the resource required for establishing the session has been allocated successfully through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0069S<b>109</b>, user terminal B <b>220</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> that the resource has been prepared through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0070S <b>110</b>, user terminal B <b>220</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> that user B <b>220</b> is being promoted through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0071S <b>111</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> that user B <b>220</b> is being promoted through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0072S<b>112</b>, user terminal B <b>220</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> that user B <b>220</b> has responded through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0073S<b>113</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> that user B <b>220</b> has responded through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0074S<b>114</b>, user A <b>210</b> establishing media stream channel with the gateway equipment <b>120</b> through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0075S<b>115</b>, the gateway equipment <b>120</b> establishing session media stream channel with user B <b>220</b> through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0076S<b>116</b>, user A <b>210</b> sending the media stream to the gateway equipment <b>120</b>, then the gateway equipment <b>120</b> distributing the media stream to user B <b>220</b>;

p-0077S<b>117</b>, user A <b>210</b> releasing the PTT button, and notifying it to the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0078S<b>118</b>, user B <b>220</b> pushing the PTT button, and notifying it to the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network <b>150</b>, and sending the media stream through the media stream channel established with the gateway equipment <b>120</b>;

p-0079S<b>119</b>, the gateway equipment <b>120</b> distributing the media stream to user A <b>210</b> through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0080S<b>120</b>, user B <b>220</b> releasing the PTT button, and notifying it to the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network <b>150</b>;

p-0081S<b>120</b>, when the session is over, the control equipment <b>110</b> being notified to notify the gateway equipment <b>120</b> to release the session resource allocated for the PTT service of this time;

p-0082S<b>121</b>, users A <b>210</b> and B <b>220</b> exiting from the PTT service of this time.

p-0083Embodiment 2: <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> shows a situation that users A, B, C and D of different operators realize the PTT service, in which, it is supposed that the PTT service is provided by operator A, users A and B belong to the operator A, and users C and D belong to operator B.

p-0084Similarly, first supposing the following basic conditions:

p-0085users A, B and C are all users adaptive for the PTT service system.

p-0086user A adds users B and C etc. to its own group in application server (<b>130</b>).

p-0087users A, B and C have no group call-in limitation.

p-0088all network common resources (tone, number receiver etc.) are in the equipments.

p-0089users A, B and C belong to the same operator.

p-0090The major operation procedures of user A <b>210</b>, user B<b>220</b> and user C <b>230</b> realizing the PTT service include the following steps of:

p-0091S <b>201</b>, user A <b>210</b> pushing the PTT button to initiate a request of establishing PTT service for user B <b>220</b> and user C <b>230</b> to the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network A<b>151</b> and communication gateway <b>160</b>;

p-0092S <b>202</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> requesting for the attribute of user A from the application server after receiving the PTT service request sent from user A, after the authentication being passed, the control equipment <b>110</b> sending requests for establishing PTT service to user B <b>220</b> through the access network A <b>151</b>, and to user C <b>230</b> through the inter-networking gateway <b>160</b> and access network B <b>152</b>;

p-0093S<b>203</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying the gateway equipment <b>120</b> of the request of user A <b>210</b> establishing PTT service, and ordering the gateway equipment <b>120</b> to allocate corresponding resources for this session and then report the resource allocation situation;

p-0094S<b>204</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying the gateway <b>120</b> of the request of establishing PTT service with user B <b>220</b>, and notifying the gateway equipment <b>120</b> to allocate corresponding session resources and report the resource allocation situation;

p-0095S<b>205</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying the gateway <b>120</b> of the request of establishing PTT service with user C <b>230</b>, and notifying the gateway equipment <b>120</b> to allocate corresponding session resources and report the resource allocation situation;

p-0096S <b>206</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> responding to the request of establishing PTT service to user A<b>210</b> through the access network A<b>151</b> after receiving a response to the request of establishing PTT service from user B<b>220</b>;

p-0097S<b>207</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> through the access network A<b>151</b> after receiving a response to the request of establishing PTT service from user C<b>230</b>;

p-0098S<b>208</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user B <b>220</b> that the resources required for establishing the session have been allocated successfully through the access network A <b>151</b>;

p-0099S<b>209</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user C <b>230</b> that the resources required for establishing the session have been allocated successfully through the inter-networking gateway <b>160</b> and access network B <b>152</b>;

p-0100S<b>210</b>, user terminal A <b>210</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> that the resources have been finished completed preparation through access network A <b>151</b> after receiving a response to request from the control equipment <b>110</b>;

p-0101S <b>211</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> that the resources required for establishing the session have been allocated successfully through the access network A <b>151</b>;

p-0102S<b>212</b>, user terminal B <b>220</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> that the resources have been completed preparation through the access network A <b>151</b>;

p-0103S<b>213</b>, user terminal C <b>230</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> that the resources have been completed preparation through the inter-networking <b>160</b> and access network B <b>152</b>;

p-0104S <b>214</b>, user terminal B <b>220</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network A <b>151</b> that user B <b>220</b> is being promoted;

p-0105S<b>215</b>, user terminal C <b>230</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> through the inter-networking gateway <b>160</b> and access network B <b>152</b> that user C <b>230</b> is being promoted;

p-0106S <b>216</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> through the access network A <b>151</b> that user B <b>220</b> is being promoted;

p-0107S<b>217</b>, user terminal B <b>220</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> through the access network A <b>151</b> that user B <b>220</b> has answered;

p-0108S<b>218</b>, user terminal C <b>230</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> through the inter-networking gateway <b>160</b> and access network <b>152</b> that user C <b>230</b> has answered;

p-0109S<b>219</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> through access network A <b>151</b> that user B <b>220</b> has answered;

p-0110S<b>220</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> through the inter-networking gateway <b>160</b> and access network B <b>152</b> that user C <b>230</b> has answered;

p-0111S<b>221</b>, user A <b>210</b> establishing a media stream channel with gateway equipment <b>120</b> through access network A <b>151</b>;

p-0112S<b>222</b>, gateway equipment <b>120</b> establishing a session media stream channel with user B <b>220</b> through access network A <b>151</b>;

p-0113S<b>223</b>, gateway equipment <b>120</b> establishing a session media stream channel with user C <b>230</b> through inter-networking gateway <b>160</b> and access network B <b>152</b>;

p-0114S<b>224</b>, user A <b>210</b> sending media stream to gateway equipment <b>120</b>, then the gateway equipment <b>120</b> media stream distributing the media stream through the media channel established with user B <b>220</b> and user C <b>230</b> respectively;

p-0115S<b>225</b>, user A <b>210</b> releasing the PTT button, releasing the right of speaking, and notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network A <b>151</b>;

p-0116S<b>226</b>, user B <b>220</b> pushing the PTT button and obtaining the right of speaking, then notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network A <b>151</b>, and sending the media stream through the media stream channel established with the gateway equipment <b>120</b>;

p-0117S<b>227</b>, the gateway equipment <b>120</b> distributing the media stream received from user B <b>220</b> to user A <b>210</b> and user C <b>230</b> through the media channel established with user A <b>210</b> and user C <b>230</b>;

p-0118S<b>228</b>, user B <b>220</b> releasing the PTT button, and releasing the right of speaking, then notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network A <b>151</b>;

p-0119S<b>229</b>, if users not having required speaking pushes the PTT button, then the session being finished, and notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> to notify the gateway equipment <b>120</b> to release the session resources allocated for PTT service of this time;

p-0120S<b>230</b>, user A <b>210</b>, B <b>220</b> and user C <b>230</b> exiting from PTT session service of this time.

p-0121Users B <b>220</b> and C <b>230</b> are actually not in sequent orders, the sequence of users B <b>220</b> and C <b>230</b> is only a assumed situation in this embodiment. In addition, when user A and its group members B and C belong to the same operator, the only thing needs to do is just getting rid of the inter-networking equipments, such as the gateway.

p-0122Step <b>42</b>, one of the source users or target group users in the group requesting for speaking, this user pushing the PTT service button, obtaining the right of speaking, and establishing media stream with the gateway equipment; the gateway equipment distributing the media stream to related users according to the related user information provided by the control equipment;

p-0123Step <b>42</b>, the user requesting for speaking completing the speaking, then releasing the PTT service button;

p-0124Embodiment 3, <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> shows the situation that user A <b>210</b>, user C <b>230</b> and user D <b>240</b> which belong to different gateways realize the PTT service:

p-0125Similarly, first supposing the following basic conditions:

p-0126users A, C and D are all users adaptive to the PTT service system.

p-0127user A adds users C and D etc. to its own group in the application server (<b>130</b>).

p-0128user A, C and D have no group call-in limitation.

p-0129network common resources (tone, number receiver etc.) are all in the equipments.

p-0130users A, C and D belong to the same operator.

p-0131there is a gateway equipment A (<b>121</b>) in the area where user A locates, and there is a gateway equipment B <b>122</b> in the area where users C and D locate.

p-0132The major operation procedures of the PTT service include the following steps of:

p-0133S <b>301</b>, user A <b>210</b> pushing the PTT button to initiate a request of establishing PTT service for user C <b>230</b> and user D <b>240</b> toward the control equipment <b>110</b> through the access network <b>153</b>;

p-0134S <b>302</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> inquiring for the attribute of user A <b>210</b> toward the application server after receiving a service request from user A, after the authentication being passed, sending the request of establishing PTT service to users C <b>230</b> and D<b>240</b> respectively through the access network B <b>154</b>;

p-0135S<b>303</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> finding that gateway both equipment A <b>121</b> and gateway equipment B <b>122</b> are able to process the session media stream of PTT service of this time, but there are two users in the area where gateway equipment B <b>122</b> locates, then, the control equipment <b>110</b> selecting the gateway equipment B <b>122</b> as the gateway for processing media stream of this session, and notifying the gateway equipment B <b>122</b> that user A <b>210</b> requests for establishing PTT service, and ordering the gateway equipment B <b>122</b> to allocate corresponding resources for this session and then report the resource allocation situation;

p-0136S<b>304</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying the gateway equipment B <b>122</b> of the request of establishing the PTT service with user C <b>230</b>, and notifying the gateway equipment B <b>122</b> to allocate corresponding session resources and then report the resource allocation situation;

p-0137S<b>305</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying the gateway B <b>122</b> of the request of establishing the PTT service with user D <b>240</b>, and notifying the gateway equipment B <b>122</b> to allocate corresponding session resources and the report the resource allocation situation;

p-0138S <b>306</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> responding to the request of establishing PTT service to user A <b>210</b> through access network A <b>153</b> after receiving a response of successful request for establishing PTT service from user C <b>230</b>;

p-0139S<b>307</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> through access network A <b>153</b> after receiving a response of successful request for establishing PTT service from user D<b>240</b>;

p-0140S<b>308</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user C <b>230</b> that the resources required for establishing the session have been allocated successfully through access network B <b>154</b>;

p-0141S<b>309</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user D <b>240</b> that the resources required for establishing the session have been allocated successfully through access network B <b>154</b>;

p-0142S<b>310</b>, user terminal A <b>210</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> that the resources have been finished preparation through access network A <b>153</b> after receiving the response to request from the control equipment <b>110</b>;

p-0143S <b>311</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> that the resources required for establishing the session have been allocated successfully through access network A <b>153</b>;

p-0144S<b>312</b>, user terminal C <b>230</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> that the resources have been finished preparation through access network B <b>154</b>;

p-0145S<b>313</b>, user terminal D <b>240</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> that the resources have been finished preparation through access network B <b>154</b>;

p-0146S <b>314</b>, user terminal C <b>230</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> that the user C <b>230</b> is being promoted through access network B <b>154</b>;

p-0147S<b>315</b>, user terminal D <b>240</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> that user D <b>240</b> is being promoted through access network B <b>154</b>;

p-0148S <b>316</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> that user C <b>230</b> is being promoted through access network A <b>153</b>;

p-0149S<b>317</b>, user terminal C <b>230</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network B <b>154</b> that user C <b>230</b> has answered;

p-0150S<b>318</b>, user terminal D <b>240</b> notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network B <b>154</b> that user D <b>240</b> has answered;

p-0151S<b>319</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> through access network A <b>153</b> that user C <b>230</b> has answered;

p-0152S<b>320</b>, the control equipment <b>110</b> notifying user A <b>210</b> through access network A <b>153</b> that user D <b>240</b> has answered;

p-0153S<b>321</b>, user A <b>210</b> establishing the media stream channel with gateway equipment B <b>122</b> through access network A <b>153</b>;

p-0154S<b>322</b>, gateway equipment B <b>122</b> establishing the session media stream channel with user C <b>230</b> through access network B <b>154</b>;

p-0155S<b>323</b>, gateway equipment B <b>122</b> establishing the session media stream channel with user D <b>240</b> through access network B <b>154</b>;

p-0156S<b>324</b>, user A <b>210</b> sending the media stream to gateway equipment B <b>122</b>, then the gateway equipment B <b>122</b> distributing the media stream through the media channels established with user C <b>230</b> and user D <b>240</b> respectively;

p-0157S<b>325</b>, user A <b>210</b> releasing the PTT button and the right of speaking, and notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network A <b>153</b>;

p-0158S<b>326</b>, user C <b>230</b> pushing the PTT button, obtaining the right of speaking, notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network B <b>154</b>, and sending the media stream through the media stream channel established with gateway equipment B <b>122</b>;

p-0159S<b>327</b>, gateway equipment B <b>122</b> distributing the media stream received from user C<b>230</b> to user A <b>210</b> and user D <b>240</b> through the media channels established with user A <b>210</b> and user D <b>240</b>;

p-0160S<b>328</b>, user C <b>230</b> releasing the PTT button and the right of speaking, and notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> through access network B <b>154</b>;

p-0161S<b>329</b>, if there is no user who requests for right of speaking pushes the PTT button, then the session being over, and notifying the control equipment <b>110</b> to notify gateway equipment B<b>122</b> to release the session resources allocated for PTT service of this time;

p-0162S<b>330</b>, users A <b>210</b>, C <b>230</b> and D <b>240</b> exiting from the PTT session service.

p-0163Users C <b>230</b> and D<b>240</b> actually are not in sequence, in this embodiment, the sequence of users C <b>230</b> and D<b>240</b> is only a supposed situation.

p-0164In addition, although three embodiments are disclosed above, this invention does not set limitation to the session procedures of the PT service and the specific operation modes of pushing button.

p-0165In the above, the operation principles of the present invention are described in detail, and several typical network structure flowcharts are also provided. However, they are only concrete examples employed for the convenience of understanding, and should not be taken as limitations to the scope of the present invention. Similarly, any possible equal modifications and substitutions made according to the descriptions of the technical schemes and preferred embodiments of the present invention should be covered in the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTION

p-0166The present invention provides a PTT service system and method thereof, which enables the application of the PTT service not limit to the mobile users. By employing the present invention, many kinds of network modes can be realized, and the PTT service can be realized in the terminal equipments which support the PTT service, such as the fixed user, soft phone user, mobile user, WLAN user and PHS user etc.