SIP Late Media Indicator for Session Continuation

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

In telecommunications systems, maintaining active SIP dialogues for media sessions that do not require further control leads to unnecessary overhead, especially in scenarios where media sessions continue without the need for duration-based charging or quality control.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating a late media indicator data element within Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages to allow media streams to continue after the SIP dialogue has terminated, enabling the media sessions to persist until explicitly ended by either endpoint, without requiring additional signaling.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of energy

If SIP dialogue remains active to control media session, then media session can be controlled and terminated properly, but unnecessary overhead is generated when media session does not require further control

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetwork overheadVSAvoidmedia session control

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the control mechanism by introducing a late media indicator that separates media stream continuation from SIP dialogue termination. This allows the media session to be decoupled from the control dialogue, enabling the dialogue to terminate while media continues, thus reducing overhead without losing control capability where needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the state parameter of the media session by introducing a flag or indicator that specifies whether late media is expected. This parameter change allows the system to differentiate between media sessions that need continued control and those that don't, enabling selective dialogue termination while maintaining media flow.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If SIP dialogue is terminated early, then network overhead is reduced, but media session control and quality assurance are compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata handling capacityVSAvoidmedia session quality control

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by establishing the late media indicator during the SIP dialogue phase. This preliminary indication allows both endpoints to prepare for media continuation after dialogue termination, ensuring that quality control mechanisms are already in place before the dialogue ends, thus maintaining reliability while enabling early termination.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The late media indicator acts as an intermediary mechanism that bridges the control plane (SIP dialogue) and user plane (media stream). It allows the control plane to terminate while providing advance notice to the user plane to continue media flow, thus maintaining reliability without requiring prolonged control dialogue.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Quantity of substance

If media stream continues after SIP dialogue termination, then data capacity is optimized, but coordination between control plane and user plane becomes complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata capacityVSAvoidcontrol coordination

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the media continuation indication from the complex SIP dialogue protocol by introducing a specific late media indicator data element. This extraction simplifies the coordination mechanism, allowing media to continue after dialogue termination without requiring complex ongoing coordination, thus optimizing data capacity while managing complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS9674229B2Method and apparatus for continuing the exchange of a media data stream beyond termination of a corresponding session initiation protocol dialogue

Publication Date: 2017.06.06 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

AI summary

A method of operating a first communication device (3) for receiving a media data stream (64) from at least one second communication device (5) in a telecommunications system. The first communication device (3) exchanging with the at least one second communication device (5) Session Initiation Protocol, SIP, messages (60, 62, 63, 64, 67, 70) during a SIP dialogue. The SIP messages (67, 70) including a late media indicator (68, 71) that includes an indication that the media stream (64) continues (72) after the SIP dialogue has terminated, or an indication (75) of support of receiving media stream after the SIP dialogue has terminated. The SIP dialogue controls the media data stream (64, 72). The first communication device (3) receives the media data stream (64, 72) from the second communication device (5). The first communication device (3) continues to receive the media data stream (72) after the SIP dialogue has ended.