1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to point-to-point or point-to-multipoint wireless communications systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for sharing various forms of media between members of a communicating group of wireless telecommunication devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
In wireless telecommunication devices, such as cellular phones, PDAs, mini-laptops, and advanced pagers, the devices typically communicate over long distances by bridging telephone calls through existing cellular telephone networks and passing data packets across the network. These wireless devices often have limited to significant data processing and computing capability, and can accordingly send and receive software programs, in addition to voice, across the telephone network.
There exists a wireless telecommunication service that provides a quick one-to-one or one-to-many communication that is generically referred to as “Push-To-Talk” (PTT) capability. The specific PTT group of recipient devices for the communicating wireless device is commonly set up by the carrier. A PTT communication connection is typically initiated by a single button-push on the wireless device that activates a half-duplex link between the speaker and each member device of the group and once the button is released, the device can receive incoming PTT transmissions once the button is released. In some arrangements, the PTT speaker will have the “floor” where no other group member can speak while the speaker is speaking. Once the speaker releases the PTT button, any other individual member of the group can engage their PTT button and they will have the floor.
In existing PTT systems, member devices will only communicate voice data between the devices in an active group communication. It is difficult to include other data in the group communication because of the size of the data and the device resources necessary to handle non-voice data. The existing mobile devices therefore send non-voice data, such as graphics, multimedia and other data files, through specific data channels established between the device and a wireless communication network.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a system and method for a wireless device member of a group to send media to others member of the PTT target group. The system and method should be able to accommodate group-directed media data of large size without compromising the integrity of other PTT communications or unduly utilizing device resources. It is thus to the provision of such a system and method to allow group-directed media among wireless devices in a PTT group that the present invention is primarily directed.