FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT  1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES  2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10  rule 13)

“A method and system of redirecting streaming content over a communication network”

Tejas Networks Limited
2nd floor  GNR Tech Park  46/4  Garbebhavi Palya 
Kudlu Gate  Hosur main road 
Bangalore 560 068  Karnataka  India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to communication and more specifically to a method and system for managing communication sessions between two or more equipments.

Background of the Invention
Traditional streaming of content during a session  however  is limited to a particular client that is utilized to access the content. When ordering a VOD (e.g.  a movie)  for instance  a session is initiated between a particular set-top box and a head end such that the movie is streamed to the particular set-top box. If the user wishes to view the movie utilizing a new client  however  a new session is initiated between the head end and the new client that is not aware of the previous session that was utilized to stream the content for output to the user. This lack of awareness may result in additional costs  such as to purchase conditional access rights to access the content utilizing the new client  in network bandwidth costs of networks utilized to stream the content  and so on.
Example: A user has two devices: UE1 (UE stands for user equipment) and UE2. UE 1 is mobile device with small screen and low data rate. UE 2 is a laptop with big screen and very high data rate. User wishes the video content that he was watching on the UE1 to be rendered on UE2. UE1 and UE2 may be physically far away connected either wirelessly or over wire to a network of same operator or different operator.
Example 2: Call transfer feature for voice call over IP network using Session Initiation Protocol. This is restricted to only VoIP. Here a user or receptionist picks the call and then redirects the incoming call to the appropriate extension. For some implementation it is possible to program a re-director such that without the intervention of a receptionist  the call will be redirected  either temporarily or permanently  to another phone number.
In the case of streaming of video content  due to the lack of awareness of the previous session between the user and the head end  even when the same session is initiated between a new client and the head end  the user is required to manually navigate through the content to continue output of the content at a corresponding point-in-time in the output of the session.
Accordingly  there is a continuing need for redirection of streaming content.

Summary of the Invention
The following presents a simplified summary of one or more embodiments in order to provide a basic understanding of such embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated embodiments  and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all embodiments nor delineate the scope of any or all embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention is a method of redirecting streaming content from one user equipment to the other available precise user equipment from the lookup server over a communication network  the method comprising: registering a plurality of user equipments and a server with at least one lookup server  wherein the plurality of user equipments including a first user equipment and a second user equipment  the first user equipment  the second user equipment and the server are tagged with a unique identifier  checking periodically integrity of the connection between the user equipments and the lookup server  triggering  upon notification  to identify the transfer of some or all incoming contents at the first UE to at least one second UE from the group of UEs registered with the lookup server and redirecting the transfer of the content of the server from the first UE to the identified second available UE  wherein the redirection is based on the unique ID of the content.
In another aspect of the present invention is a system of redirecting streaming content in a communication network  the system comprising: a plurality of user equipments  at least one server having content and at least one look up server operatively configured to the plurality of user equipments and the server over the communication network  wherein the lookup server is configured for  registering a plurality of user equipments and a server with at least one lookup server  wherein the plurality of user equipments including a first user equipment and a second user equipment  the first user equipment  the second user equipment and the server are tagged with a unique identifier  checking periodically integrity of the connection between the user equipments and the lookup server  triggering  upon notification  to identify the transfer of some or all incoming contents at the first UE to at least one second UE from the group of UEs registered with the lookup server and redirecting the transfer of the content of the server from the first UE to the identified second available UE  wherein the redirection is based on the unique ID of the content.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.
Before undertaking the detailed description of the invention below  it may be advantageous 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 invention  and the advantages thereof  reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings  wherein like numbers designate like objects  and in which:
Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary system in which data may be streamed between two or more nodes in a network.
Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary system of redirecting streaming content in a communication network according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary generalized operational flow including various operations that may be performed while redirecting streaming content from one user equipment to the other available precise user equipment from the lookup server over a communication network according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example  the dimensions of some of the elements in the figure may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
Throughout the drawings  it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements  features  and structures.

Detail description of the Invention
In the following description  for purposes of explanation and not limitation  specific details are set forth such as particular architectures  interfaces  techniques  etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However  it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details. That is  those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which  although not explicitly described or shown herein  embody the principles of the invention and are included within its spirit and scope. In some instances  detailed descriptions of well-known devices  circuits  and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary detail. All statements herein reciting principles  aspects  and embodiments of the invention  as well as specific examples thereof  are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally  it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future  i.e.  any elements developed that perform the same function  regardless of structure.
Thus  for example  it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that block diagrams herein can represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the technology. Similarly  it will be appreciated that any flow charts  state transition diagrams  pseudocode  and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and so executed by a computer or processor  whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.
The functions of the various elements including functional blocks labeled or described as "computer"  "processor" or "controller" may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in the form of coded instructions stored on computer readable medium. A computer is generally understood to comprise one or more processors  and the terms computer and processor may be employed interchangeably herein. When provided by a computer or processor  the functions may be provided by a single dedicated computer or processor  by a single shared computer or processor  or by a plurality of individual computers or processors  some of which may be shared or distributed. Such functions are to be understood as being computer-implemented and thus machine-implemented. Moreover  use of the term "processor" or "controller" shall also be construed to refer to other hardware capable of performing such functions and/or executing software  and may include  without limitation  digital signal processor (DSP) hardware  reduced instruction set processor  hardware (e.g.  digital or analog) circuitry  and (where appropriate) state machines capable of performing such functions.
Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary system in which data may be streamed between two or more nodes in a network. The system 100 includes one or more user equipments (110  120)  a server 130  where the user equipments 110  120 communicates with the server via a network 140 over link L1 and link L2. The user equipments 110  120 may include a portable terminal  a mobile terminal  a personal digital assistant (PDA)  an MP3 player  a PSP  and the like  which are capable of storing or reproducing multimedia. Referring to FIG. 1  the server may be or may includes a network processor  a transmitter  a receiver  a meta interface (IF) processor  a user interface  a media redirection processor  an optimum UI determiner  an announcement processor  a device and service information provider  a media player component  a mobile code provider and processor  a media source processor  an environment monitor  and a controller. The server 130 is responsible for receiving data for connecting with user equipments. The server 130 is also responsible for receiving data for the connection from the user equipments over the network 140. For example  upon a multimedia request from the user equipments  the server reproduces a multimedia stream selected according to a user""s request. Also  the server is responsible for managing a database (DB) (not shown in figure) which converts the multimedia stream to data and stores the same.
Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary system of redirecting streaming content in a communication network according to one embodiment of the present invention. The system 200 includes one or more user equipments (210  220)  a server 230  and a lookup server 250. The user equipments 210  220 communicate with the network 240 over link L1 and link L2.
The user equipments 210  220 may include a portable terminal  a mobile terminal  a personal digital assistant (PDA)  an MP3 player  a PSP  and the like  which are capable of storing or reproducing multimedia.
The server 230 may be or may include a network processor  a transmitter  a receiver  a meta interface (IF) processor  a user interface  a media redirection processor  an optimum UI determiner  an announcement processor  a device and service information provider  a media player component  a mobile code provider and processor  a media source processor  an environment monitor  and a controller. Also  the server is responsible for managing a database (DB) (not shown in figure) which converts the multimedia stream to data and stores the same.

The lookup server 250 may be or may include any standard data processing means or computer  including a minicomputer  a microcomputer  a UNIX® machine  a mainframe machine  a personal computer (PC) such as INTEL® based processing computer or clone thereof  an APPLE® computer or clone thereof or  a SUN® workstation  or other appropriate computer. Lookup server generally includes conventional computer components (not shown)  such as a motherboard  central processing unit (CPU)  random access memory (RAM)  hard disk drive  display adapter  other storage media such as diskette drive  CD-ROM  flash-ROM  tape drive  PCMCIA cards and/or other removable media  a monitor  keyboard  mouse and/or other user interface means  a modem  and/or other conventional input/output devices. Lookup server also includes a Network Interface for communication with other computers using an appropriate network protocol.
In an operation  End nodes (UEs and servers) register their ID (Unique Registration ID or URI) with lookup server. UEs belonging to a user are grouped together under one User ID. Each UE’s URI has physical address associated with it… example IP address  Tunnel ID  MAC address  Telephone number  etc. When a UE is connected to a network  the lookup server is notified about the physical address also. When user enters a particular servers ID to source a video content onto the UE1 210  the UE’s URI is notified to the lookup server 250. UE1 210 requests the lookup server 250 for physical address of the server 230 matching the server ID. The lookup server 250 will return the physical address of the server 230 if available. If not  then the lookup server 250 will request other lookup servers (not shown in figure) for the information. Once UE1 210 receives physical address of the server 230  it will be able to download the video. A download of video is assigned a session ID by end nodes and which is stored by all intermediate network nodes (router  bridges  etc.). The network nodes  like RP (Rendezvous Point 260)  also store associated URIs and optionally physical address. The Rendezvous Point (RP) can be within UE  Server  Router  bridges  proxy servers  serving gateway  packet data network gateway  IMS server  etc. If the existing session encounters fault  then network nodes will detect reason of failure and try to reestablish the same session with alternate end nodes by switching or re-directing stream to alternate URI of the user.
In the present system  topology is not fixed and not restricted to end nodes connecting to fixed topology. The topology is routing topology over IP network or like and hence dynamic and not fixed. End nodes only know the ID and session ID. Topology knowledge of how to reach the end nodes or connect the end nodes is learnt by the end nodes and network nodes from the physical address and associated routing or bridging protocols. In this way session re-direction is network assisted. Buffering in the network is used while redirection or switching or sourcing.
Also  because of the presence of Rendezvous Point  the present invention is capable of doing multicasting and broadcasting. Also  the present system 200 can perform protection switching of unicast  multicast and broadcast traffic.
Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary generalized operational flow including various operations that may be performed while redirecting streaming content from one user equipment to the other available precise user equipment from the lookup server over a communication network according to one embodiment of the present invention.
At step 310  the method registers one or more user equipments and a server with at least one lookup server  where one or more user equipments includes a first user equipment and a second user equipment  the first user equipment  the second user equipment and the server are tagged with a unique identifier. The registering user equipment IDs and plurality of server IDs with at least one lookup server based on capabilities including screen size  encoding/decoding method for content  average data rate  buffer size  fixed device or mobile device etc.
At step 320  the method checks periodically integrity of the connection between the first user equipment and the lookup server. Checking the integrity of the connection between the content source and the user equipments by way of TCP acknowledgement  Continuity Check Message (CCM) of CFM IEEE 802.1ag  BFD (bidirectional fault detection)  etc.
At step 330  the method triggers  upon notification  to identify the transfer of some or all incoming contents at the first UE to at least one second UE from the group of UEs registered with the lookup server. The notification may include user generated transfer request  transfer request generated by one of the user equipments  failure of connection  etc. Further  the method triggers to identify the transfer of the content from the first UE to the available second UE is at a rendezvous point  wherein the rendezvous point is that point which facilitates protection switching  unicasting  multicasting and broadcasting of the content to other available UE registered with the lookup server. Further identifying the transfer of some or all incoming contents of the contents source to at least one second UE from the group of UEs registered is based on whether the second UE superior positioned to serve or display or render the contents.
The rendezvous point further facilitates in faster restoration of the connection thereby rendering the content on the next available UE from the first UE. The rendezvous point further facilitates in faster restoration of the connection by changing the sourcing of content from one server to other server (when traffic is sourced by server 1  upon failure of server 1  is sourced by server 2 (not shown in figure)). The rendezvous point can be within UE  Server  Router  bridges  proxy servers  serving gateway  packet data networdk gateway  IMS server  etc. The rendezvous point is also capable of buffering traffic temporarily  wherein the rendezvous point further stores session ID and list of UEs and servers associated with this session ID  and wherein the rendezvous point also stores alternate UE IDs and Server IDs to which the RP will ‘re-direct to’ or ‘re-source from’ the session.
At step 340  the method redirects the transfer of the content of the server from the first UE to the identified second available UE  wherein the redirection is based on the unique ID of the content.
Although the method flowchart includes steps 310-340 that are arranged logically in the exemplary embodiments  other embodiments of the subject matter may execute two or more steps in parallel  using multiple processors or a single processor organized as two or more virtual machines or sub-processors. Moreover  still other embodiments may implement the steps as two or more specific interconnected hardware modules with related control and data signals communicated between and through the modules  or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Thus  the exemplary process flow diagrams are applicable to software  firmware  and/or hardware implementations.
FIGS. 1-3 are merely representational and are not drawn to scale. Certain portions thereof may be exaggerated  while others may be minimized. FIGS. 1-3 illustrate various embodiments of the invention that can be understood and appropriately carried out by those of ordinary skill in the art.

We Claim:

1. A method of redirecting streaming content from one user equipment to the other available precise user equipment from the lookup server over a communication network  the method comprising:
registering a plurality of user equipments and a server with at least one lookup server  wherein the plurality of user equipments including a first user equipment and a second user equipment  the first user equipment  the second user equipment and the server are tagged with a unique identifier;
checking periodically integrity of the connection between the user equipments and the lookup server;
triggering  upon notification  to identify the transfer of some or all incoming contents at the first UE to at least one second UE from the group of UEs registered with the lookup server; and
redirecting the transfer of the content of the server from the first UE to the identified second available UE  wherein the redirection is based on the unique ID of the content.

2. The method of claim 1  wherein the step of triggering to identify the transfer of the content from the first UE to the available second UE is at the rendezvous point  wherein the rendezvous point is that point which facilitates protection switching  unicasting  multicasting and broadcasting of the content to other available UE registered with the lookup server.

3. The method of claim 2  wherein the rendezvous point further facilitates in faster restoration of the connection thereby rendering the content on the next available UE from the first UE.

4. The method of claim 2  wherein the rendezvous point further facilitates in faster restoration of the connection by changing the sourcing of content from one server to other server that is registered with the lookup server.

5. The method of claim 2  wherein the rendezvous point can be within UE  Server  Router  bridges  proxy servers  serving gateway  packet data network gateway  IMS server  etc.

6. The method of claim 2  wherein the rendezvous point is capable of buffering traffic temporarily  wherein the rendezvous point further stores session ID and list of UEs and servers associated with this session ID  and wherein the rendezvous point also stores alternate UE IDs and Server IDs to which the RP will ‘re-direct to’ or ‘re-source from’ the session.

7. The method of claim 1  wherein the step of checking periodically integrity of the connection between the content source and the user equipments by way of TCP acknowledgement  Continuity Check Message (CCM) of CFM IEEE 802.1ag  BFD (bidirectional fault detection)  etc.

8. The method of claim 1  wherein the step of registering the plurality of user equipment IDs and plurality of server IDs with at least one lookup server based on capabilities including screen size  encoding/decoding method for content  average data rate  buffer size  fixed device or mobile device etc.

9. The method of claim 1  wherein identifying the transfer of some or all incoming contents of the contents source to at least one second UE from the group of UEs registered is based on whether the second UE superior positioned to display or render the contents.

10. A system of redirecting streaming content in a communication network  the system comprising:
a plurality of user equipments;
at least one server having content; and
at least one look up server operatively configured to the plurality of user equipments and the server over the communication network;
wherein the lookup server is configured for 
registering the plurality of user equipments and servers with at least one lookup server  wherein the plurality of user equipments including a first user equipment and a second user equipment  the first user equipment  the second user equipment and the server are tagged with a unique identifier;
checking periodically integrity of the connection between the first user equipment and the lookup server;
triggering  upon notification  to identify the transfer of some or all incoming contents at the first UE to at least one second UE from the group of UEs registered with the lookup server; and
redirecting the transfer of the content of the lookup server from the first UE to the identified second available UE  wherein the redirection is based on the unique ID of the content.
Dated this the 22nd day of January  2012
S Afsar
Agent for the Applicant
Registration No. IN/PA-1073

Abstract
A method and system of redirecting streaming content over a communication network
The present invention relates to a method and system of redirecting streaming content from one user equipment to the other available precise user equipment over a communication network. In one embodiment this is accomplished by registering a plurality of user equipments and a server with at least one lookup server  checking periodically integrity of the connection between the first user equipment and the lookup server  triggering  upon failure of connection  to identify the transfer of some or all incoming contents at the first UE to at least one second UE from the group of UEs registered with the lookup server and redirecting the transfer of the content of the lookup server from the first UE to the identified second available UE  wherein the redirection is based on the unique ID of the content.

Figure 2 (for publication)