Multicast distribution of presence information for an instant messaging system
US6993327B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 29, 2001 |
| Grant date | Jan 31, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 6, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L61/5069
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention is a system, method and network (110) for multicast distribution of presence information to a plurality of communication devices (102, 104, 106, 108). A contact list (122, 124, 126, 128), associated with each communication device, identifies one or more of the other communication devices. The network provides one or more multicast addresses based on the contact lists of the communication devices to the plurality of communication devices. The network also sends multicast messages identified by the one or more multicast addresses to the plurality of communication devices. Each multicast address identifies a group of multicast devices among the plurality of communication devices, and the multicast messages include presence information about the group of multicast devices. A portion of the plurality of communication devices receives the multicast messages identified by the one or more multicast addresses and extracts the presence information about the group of multicast devices from the multicast messages.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.