Patent Publication Number: US-11647092-B2

Title: Apparatus and method for sharing information through presence service in a communication network

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/267,962, filed Feb. 5, 2019, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/894,328, filed on Feb. 12, 2018, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,237,395 on Mar. 19, 2019, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/608,344, filed on May 30, 2017, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,924,025 on Mar. 20, 2018, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/359,664, filed on Nov. 23, 2016, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,794,395 on Oct. 17, 2017, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/074,462, filed on Mar. 18, 2016, in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,762,720 on Sep. 12, 2017, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/830,312, filed on Aug. 19, 2015, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,313,635 on Apr. 12, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/675,003, filed on Mar. 31, 2015, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,137,363 on Sep. 15, 2015, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/552,299, filed on Nov. 24, 2014, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,462,442 on Oct. 4, 2016, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/657,074, filed on Jan. 13, 2010 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,897,214 on Nov. 25, 2014, which claims priority under 25 U.S.C. § 119(a) from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0002516, filed on Jan. 13, 2009 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a presence service. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for sharing information through a presence service in a communication network. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A recent research for the unification of communication technologies has been actively made. An Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is one of the unifications of the communication technologies. IMS is a technology for complexly providing multimedia such as a voice, an audio, a video, large capacity data, etc. through an IP. Based on IMS, services such as a presence service, a Push to talk on Cellular (PoC) service, a Voice over IP (VoIP) service, a video/image sharing service, etc. can be provided. 
     Among the listed IMS-based services, the presence service is a service designed to provide status information between user Mobile Stations (MSs). Up to now, the presence service is under active development, but it is general that the presence service provides status information input by a user. That is, the user MSs deliver their own presence information to a separate presence server. If there is a request for a presence service from a different MS, the presence server provides presence information of a target MS to the different MS. 
     As described above, a user can acquire status information on other user MSs through his/her own MS by using the presence service. However, the information acquired through the presence service is limited to information that is input by a called party. Further, the presence service simply provides only status information on a called party, and does not consider providing a seamless service based on the status information on the called party. Thus, there is a need to propose an alternative for acquiring more detailed status information on a called party&#39;s MS and more conveniently sharing information using the status information. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To address the above-discussed deficiencies of the prior art, it is a primary aspect of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for providing detailed status information through a presence service in a communication network. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for sharing information depending on acquired status information through a presence service in a communication network. 
     A further aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for automatically updating status information to be provided through a presence service in a communication network. 
     A yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for sharing identified contents through a presence service in a communication network. 
     The above aspects are achieved by providing an apparatus and method for sharing information through a presence service in a communication network. 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for providing presence information of a Mobile Station (MS) in a communication network providing a presence service is provided. The method includes extracting at least one of application information and contents indication information from an application in execution, preparing presence information including at least one of the application information and the contents indication information, and transmitting the presence information to a presence server. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for acquiring presence information of an MS in a communication network providing a presence service is provided. The method includes receiving presence information of a source MS from a presence server, and displaying the presence information including application information and contents indication information. 
     According to a further aspect of the present invention, an MS apparatus in a communication network providing a presence service is provided. The apparatus includes a controller for extracting at least one of application information and contents indication information from an application in execution, and preparing presence information including at least one of the application information and the contents indication information, and a communication unit for transmitting the presence information to a presence server. 
     According to a yet another aspect of the present invention, an MS apparatus in a communication network providing a presence service is provided. The apparatus includes a communication unit for receiving presence information of a source MS from a presence server, and a display unit for displaying the presence information including application information and contents indication information. 
     Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION below, it may be advantages to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts: 
         FIG.  1    is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displaying presence information of a Mobile Station (MS) in a communication network according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  2    is a diagram illustrating a flow of a signal dependent on a presence service of an MS in a communication network according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  3    is a block diagram illustrating a construction of an MS in a communication network according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  4    is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure of providing presence information of an MS and contents in a communication network according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG.  5    is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure of acquiring presence information of on MS and contents in a communication network according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIGS.  1  through  5   , discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged communication network. 
     A technology for acquiring detailed status information on a called party&#39;s Mobile Station (MS) and more conveniently sharing information using the status information through a presence service in a communication network according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described below. Here, the MS represents a communication MS accessible to an Internet Protocol (IP) network. For example, the MS means the inclusion of all of a cellular phone, a Personal Communication System (PCS), a Personal Data Assistant (PDA), an International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT)-2000 terminal, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, etc. 
     A presence service according to the present invention has the following features. 
     In a presence service according to the present invention, presence information is automatically updated depending on a function that is currently executed in an MS. For example, in case that a function such as video/audio reproduction, Web surfing through a Web browser, picture/motion capturing through a camera, image viewing, a memo, a diary, etc. is executed by a user, presence information indicating the function in execution is generated. Additionally, information indicating contents used by the function in execution can be included as well. For example, the information indicating the contents used by the function in execution can be a video file in case of video reproduction and a Web site address in case of Web surfing. Namely, an MS recognizes an application executed by a user, extracts both a name of a function corresponding to the application and the reformation indicating the contents used by the function in execution, and sets the extracted information as a value of a ‘note’ field or new field of presence information. At this time, the information indicating the contents used by the application in execution is different depending on a characteristic of the application. In some cases, there can be also presence information representing just only execution or non-execution of the application without the information indicating the contents used by the application in execution. For example, extracted information dependent on each application and an example of presence information are shown as in Table 1 below. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Application 
                 Extracted info. 
                 Example of presence info. 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 Web browser 
                 visit Web sit URL 
                 Visiting site ‘URI’ 
               
               
                 Media player 
                 Video file name, audio tag 
                 Listening to music ‘song 
               
               
                   
                   
                 title’ of ‘singer name’ 
               
               
                 Camera 
                 Capturing activation or 
                 Capturing motion 
               
               
                   
                 deactivatior 
                   
               
               
                 Image viewer 
                 Image file name 
                 Watching picture ‘file 
               
               
                   
                   
                 name’ 
               
               
                 Others 
                 Application name, data 
                 Taking memo 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Identifying schedule 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Accordingly, upon receiving the presence information, an MS displays the presence information, which is generated depending on the extracted information, i.e., the information indicating the contents used by the application in execution, on a screen. For example, a screen displaying presence information of an MS that is in course of reproducing an audio file is illustrated in  FIG.  1   . 
     Also, a presence service according to the present invention provides a function of sharing contents used by an application being in execution in a source MS displayed through the presence service. Namely, upon receiving presence information, a watcher MS sends a request for sharing of contents indicated in the presence information, to the source MS. In other words, if contents desired to be shared are selected by a user, the watcher MS determines which contents are selected by a user and which application corresponds, and sends a request for information enabling contents sharing to the source MS. At this time, the information enabling the contents sharing is different depending on a characteristic of an application. For example, the information enabling the contents sharing can be contents themselves or path information for acquiring the contents. Also, a scheme of adding a separate tag to presence information or a scheme of searching a keyword in presence information can be used to acquire application information corresponding to the presence information. In the tag adding scheme, an MS identifies a corresponding application through a tag included in presence information. In the keyword searching scheme, the MS identifies a corresponding application by searching a keyword within presence information. For example, an example of a definition of a keyword dependent on an application is shown as in Table 2 below. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Presence info. 
                 Keyword 
                 Application 
                 Info. to be requested 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 Visiting site ‘URL’ 
                 Site 
                 Web browser 
                 Current scroll position 
               
               
                 Listening to music 
                 Music 
                 Media player 
                 Media file, 
               
               
                 ‘song title’ of ‘singer 
                   
                   
                 VOD path of media file 
               
               
                 name’ 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Capturing motion 
                 Motion 
                 Camera 
                 Preview data 
               
               
                   
                 capturing 
                   
                   
               
               
                 Watching picture  
                 Picture 
                 Image viewer 
                 Image file, image path 
               
               
                 ‘file name’ 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Taking memo 
                 — 
                 others 
                 Data native to application 
               
               
                 identifying schedule 
                   
                   
                 (text, schedule document) 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     For description convenience, the present invention denotes the ‘information indicating the contents used by the function in execution’ as ‘contents indication information’, and denotes the ‘information enabling the contents sharing’ as ‘contents sharing information’. 
       FIG.  2    illustrates a flow of a signal dependent on a presence service of an MS in a communication network according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  FIG.  2    illustrates a signal flow when a source MS  210  provides presence information and a watcher MS  220  acquires the presence information of the source MS  210 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  2   , in the source MS  210 , in step  201 , information on an application in execution and contents indication information are extracted, and the extracted information are generated as presence information by an automatic presence status generator. For example, the extracted contents indication information is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of a site if it is in course of Web surfing, and is a media file or streaming address if it is in course of using a media player, and is a preview or picture if it is in course of using a camera or viewing a picture. 
     In step  203 , the presence information generated by the automatic presence status generator is delivered to a presence service module. In step  205 , the presence information is transmitted to a presence server  200  by the presence service module. And, in step  207 , in response to a request of the watcher MS  220 , the presence information stored in the presence server  200  is transmitted to the watcher MS  220 . 
     In the watcher MS  220  receiving the presence information through a presence service module, in step  209 , the presence information is delivered to a request data extractor. Also, in step  211 , a user&#39;s input responsive to a data share request identified through an input unit is delivered to the request data extractor. Then, in step  215 , the request data extractor identifies contents indicated in the presence information by analyzing the presence information, and gets ready for execution of an application corresponding to the contents. At the same time, the request data extractor sends a request for contents sharing information in response to the user&#39;s input. 
     In the source MS  210  receiving the request for contents sharing, a share authenticator performs an authentication procedure for permission or rejection of the contents sharing request of the watcher MS  220 . Namely, the share authenticator determines whether to share requested contents. At this time, the authentication is performed on the basis of a sharing range set before sharing of presence information, or the authentication is performed depending on circumstances at the time of occurrence of a request for contents sharing information. If the authentication succeeds, in step  217 , the share authenticator informs a data storage unit that the authentication is permitted. 
     Then, in step  219 , the data storage unit provides requested contents sharing information to a sharer and, in step  221 , the sharer transmits data according to a transmission scheme corresponding to the type of contents. For example, if the source MS  210  is in course of capturing with a camera, a Video Sharing (VS) scheme can be used and, if the source MS  210  is in course of watching a picture, an Image Sharing (IS) scheme can be used and, if data is equal to a TeXT (TXT), a URL, a music file, etc., a file sharing scheme can be used. However, if the contents sharing information is equal to not contents themselves but a contents acquisition path, the share authenticator informs not the data storage unit but the application that the authentication is permitted, and the application provides the contents acquisition path to the sharer. 
     Then, in the watcher MS  220  receiving the contents sharing information, in step  223 , upon acquiring the contents sharing information, a sharer provides the contents sharing information to an application ready for execution or a data storage unit. An example of an operation of the watcher MS  220  dependent on the contents sharing information received is shown as in Table 3 below. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 3 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Presence info, of source MS 
                 Application 
                 Operation of watcher MS 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 Visiting site ‘URL’ 
                 Web browser 
                 Visit to the same site 
               
               
                 Listening to music ‘song 
                 Media player 
                 Feel the same media 
               
               
                 title’ of ‘singer name’ 
                   
                   
               
               
                 Capturing motion 
                 Camera 
                 Preview 
               
               
                 Watching picture ‘file 
                 Image viewer 
                 View the same image 
               
               
                 name’ 
                   
                   
               
               
                 Taking memo 
                 others 
                 View memo by memo pad 
               
               
                 Identifying schedule 
                   
                 Compare called party’s  
               
               
                   
                   
                 schedule with my schedule  
               
               
                   
                   
                 through scheduler 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In the signal flow of  FIG.  2   , step  221  transmits the contents sharing information directly to the watcher MS  220  from the source MS  210 . However, this assumes data transmission based on IMS. Unlike this, step  221  can be perform through a separate server. 
     A construction and operation of an MS sharing presence information and contents as described above are described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG.  3    illustrates a construction of an MS in a communication network according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG.  3   , the MS includes an input unit  302 , a display unit  304 , a storage unit  306 , a communication unit  308 , and a controller  310 . 
     The input unit  302  recognizes an input generated by a user, and provides the controller  310  with information corresponding to the input. Namely, the input unit  302  processes a user&#39;s input through a keyboard, a keypad, a touch screen, a touchpad, a mouse, a special function button, etc. 
     The display unit  304  displays status information generated during an operation of the MS and numerals, characters, images, etc. resulting from an application program. Namely, the display unit  304  displays, as a visual picture, video data provided from the controller  310 . For instance, the display unit  304  can be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), etc. Particularly, the display unit  304  displays presence information of a source MS. At this time, the presence information includes application execution information and contents indication information. 
     The storage unit  306  stores data such as a program code for an activation of the MS, an application, contents, etc. For example, upon application execution, the storage unit  306  provides stored contents under control of the controller  310 , and stores contents provided from the controller  310 . 
     The communication unit  308  provides an interface for accessing a communication network. If the MS is equal to a wireless node such as a cellular phone, the communication unit  308  includes a Radio Frequency (RF) module and an antenna. Also, if the MS is equal to a computer connecting to a wired Internet network, the communication unit  308  includes a physical connection port and a modem. Particularly, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the communication unit  308  transmits presence information provided from the controller  310  to a presence server, and provides the controller  310  with presence information received from the presence server. Also, the communication unit  308  transmits packets requesting contents sharing information to a source MS, and receives the contents sharing information provided from the source MS. 
     The controller  310  controls a general function of the MS. That is, the controller  310  processes a procedure corresponding to a user&#39;s input recognized by the input unit  302 , provides video data to the display unit  304 , and controls operations of the storage unit  306  and the communication unit  308 . Particularly, the controller  310  generates presence information including application execution information and contents indication information and controls a function for contents sharing according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     In detail, if the MS operates as a source, the controller  310  extracts information on an application in execution and contents indication information, and generates presence information including the application information and the contents indication information. For example, the presence information including the application information and the contents indication information is shown as in Table 1 above. And, the controller  310  transmits the presence information to a presence server through the communication unit  308 . Also, if there is a request for contents sharing information from a watcher MS, the controller  310  performs an authentication procedure for the watcher MS. If the authentication succeeds, the controller  310  transmits the contents sharing information to the watcher MS or a separate server for data share through the communication unit  308 . For example, the contents sharing information is shown as in Table 2 above. At this time, the authentication is performed depending on a preset basis or depending on circumstances at the time of requesting contents sharing information. For instance, if the watcher MS is included in a preset list of data share permission MSs, the controller  310  transmits the contents sharing information to the watcher MS. 
     If the MS operates as a watcher, the controller  310  analyzes presence information of a source MS. That is, the controller  310  identifies which application is executed and which contents are used in the source MS through the presence information of the source MS received from a presence server. At this time, the MS analyzes the presence information through a specific tag included in the presence information, or analyzes the presence information by searching a keyword within the presence information. After that, if a contents share request command by a user is generated, the controller  310  sends a request for contents sharing information to the source MS through the communication unit  308 . At this time, whether the contents share request command is generated is determined depending on user&#39;s input information provided from the input unit  302 . And, the controller  310  identifies if requested contents sharing information is received. At this time, the contents sharing information is received from the source MS directly or via a separate server for data share. If the requested contents sharing information is received, the controller  310  executes an application corresponding to the contents sharing information, or stores the contents sharing information in the storage unit  306 . 
       FIG.  4    illustrates a procedure of providing presence information of an MS and contents in a communication network according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG.  4   , in step  401 , the MS identifies if application execution is detected. In other words, the MS identifies an execution or non-execution of an application by a user&#39;s manipulation. 
     If the execution of the application is detected, the MS, in step  403 , extracts application information and contents indication information. Namely, the MS identifies which application is executed and which contents are used. For instance, the contents indication information can be a URL of a visit site, a tag of a reproduced music file, a file name of a displayed image, etc. 
     After extracting the application information and contents indication information, in step  405 , the MS generates presence information including the application execution information and contents indication information, and transmits the generated presence information to a presence server. Namely, the MS generates the presence information including an indication indicating an application in execution and contents used. For instance, the presence information is generated as in Table 1 above. 
     After that, the MS, in step  407 , identifies if a share request for contents included in the presence information occurs. In other words, the MS identifies if a request for contents sharing information on the contents occurs. If the share request does not occur, the MS returns to step  401 . 
     On the other hand, if the share request occurs, the MS, in step  409 , performs an authentication procedure for watcher MS having sent the share request for the contents. In other words, the MS determines whether to share the contents with the watcher MS. At this time, the authentication is performed depending on a preset basis or depending on circumstances at the time of a share request. For example, if the watcher MS is included in a preset list of data share permission MSs, the MS determines to provide the contents to the watcher MS. 
     After performing the authentication procedure, the MS, in step  411 , identifies if authentication succeeds. In other words, the MS identifies if it is determined to share the contents with the watcher MS. If the authentication fails, the MS returns to step  401 . 
     On the other hand, if the authentication succeeds, the MS, in step  413 , transmits contents sharing information to the watcher MS. At this time, the MS transmits the contents sharing information to the watcher MS directly or via a separate server for data share. Here, the contents sharing information is contents themselves or path information for acquiring the contents and is shown, for example, as in Table 2 above. 
       FIG.  5    illustrates a procedure of acquiring presence information of an MS and contents in a communication network according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG.  5    in step  501 , the MS receives presence information of a source MS from a presence server, and displays the presence information. At this time, the presence information includes application information and contents indication information. 
     Then, the MS, in step  503 , analyzes the presence information of the source MS. Namely, the MS identifies which application is executed and which contents are used in the source MS through the presence information of the source MS received from the presence server. At this time, the MS analyzes the presence information through a specific tag included in the presence information, or analyzes the presence information by searching a keyword within the presence information. 
     After analyzing the presence information, the MS, in step  505 , identifies if a user&#39;s contents share request command is generated. In other words, the MS identifies if a user&#39;s manipulation of commanding a share request for contents identified through the presence information analysis is generated. 
     If the contents share request command is generated, the MS, in step  507  and sends a request for contents sharing to the source MS. In other words, the MS sends a request for contents sharing information on the contents. Here, the contents sharing information is contents themselves or path information for acquiring the contents and is shown, for example, as in Table 2 above. 
     After that, the MS, in step  509 , identifies if requested contents sharing information is received. Namely, the MS identifies if the source MS permits a share request. At this time, the contents sharing information is received from the source MS directly or via a separate server for data share. 
     If the contents sharing information is received, the MS, in step  511 , executes an application corresponding to the contents sharing information or stores the contents sharing information. The executed application is different depending on the contents and is shown, for example, as in Table 3 above. 
     An exemplary embodiment of the present invention can mutually share a more detailed status of a called party by providing not only status information previously input by a user but also automatically updated operation information of an MS through a presence service in a communication network providing the presence service. Further, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention can provide an advanced service enabling emotion share between users by enabling sharing of contents indicated through presence information. 
     While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.