Apparatus and Method for Directing a Communication Session to a Communication Device of a Group of Devices Having a Common Registration Identity
An apparatus, and an associated method, for directing communications of a communication session to a selected communication device, or devices, of a group of commonly-registered devices. A device-direction policy is created and stored at a network entity. The policy identifies preferred devices to which communications of a communication session are to be provided. A SIP Invite, or other communication-session initiation message, is provided to the network entity. The network entity detects the message, accesses the policy, and forwards on the message in accordance with the policy.
1 . A method for controlling different media types associated with a communication session with more than one media type, the method comprising:
while in an ongoing session between a first device and a second device wherein the ongoing session is connected via a network apparatus, sending a request message, from the second device to the network apparatus, the request message identifying a new media type to be added to the ongoing session and an address associated with a third device to which the new media type should be directed, wherein the request message causes the network apparatus to direct messages for establishing the new media type between the third device and the first device.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the request message is a SIP REFER message.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second device and the third device are included in a group of devices associated with a common registration identity.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the request message is sent is in response to a communication session invitation, the communication session invitation associated with adding the new media type to the ongoing session.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the communication session invitation is one of a SIP INVITE and SIP re-invite.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the address associated with the third device includes a URI.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the URI is one of a GRUU, individual telephone number, individual SIP URI, or SIPS URI.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second device is a device receiving an audio media type associated with the ongoing session, and the third device is another device which is to receive a new video media type associated with the ongoing session.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein network apparatus terminates a SIP dialog between the first device and the network apparatus, the network apparatus redirecting communications messages for media types to the second device or the third device based upon the media type.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the SIP REFER request message includes a recipient-list body that contains a list of URIs.
11 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the URI contains a header field, and the media type is included in the header field.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the request message includes a header containing a hname header parameter “body” that specifies the new media type.
13 . The method of claim 1 wherein the SIP REFER request further includes a Target-Dialog header for associating the SIP REFER request with the communication session.
14 . The method of claim 13 wherein the Target-Dialog header contains the dialog parameters for the communication session.
15 . The method of claim 5 wherein the SIP REFER request further includes a Refer-To header containing a URI of the third device.
16 . The method of claim 5 wherein the SIP REFER request further includes a body containing at least one URI of the third device.
17 . A system for transferring a media type in a communication session, the system being arranged to:
send, from a first device, a SIP REFER request message to a network apparatus for transferring at least one media type of the communication session having more than one media type to a second device, the SIP REFER containing an identification of the at least one media type to be transferred, wherein the communication session includes a split media session between a remote device and both the first device and the second device.