Author: claimsbot

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a communication device, the communication device including:
an encoder to receive and encode media locally created using the communication device, the locally created media associated with a conversation;
a transmitter to transmit over a network the locally created media to one or more participants of the conversation;
a receiver to receive media from the one or more participants of the conversation over the network;
a time-shifting buffer to store in a time-based format the media received over the communication network and the locally created media, the time-shifting buffer enabling on the communication device to either:
(i) render the media received over the network in a near real-time mode; or
(ii) render both the media received over the network and the locally created media in a time-shifted mode by retrieving the stored media from the time-shifting buffer; and
a conversation management system which enables the communication device to transition rendering of the media of the conversation between the time-shifted mode and the near real-time mode without interrupting the ongoing storage of the media of the conversation received at the communication device over the network into the time-shifting buffer,
wherein the locally created media and the media received over the network from the one or more participants are associated with one another, the associated media constituting the conversation.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation is characterized by one or more contextual attributes.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or more contextual attributes characterizing the conversation comprise one or more of the following: a conversation topic, a conversation name, a name of one or more of the participants in the conversation, or a designated time.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein both the locally created media and the media received over the network from the one or more participants are segmented into messages, the segmented messages being exchanged over the network between the communication device and the one or more participants of the conversation.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the segmented messages each include an identifier associating the messages with the conversation.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the locally created media and media received over the network from the one or more participants of the conversation comprise indexed media payloads, each of the indexed media payloads having time and sequence information associated therewith.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the created and received indexed media payloads are stored and are retrievable from the time-shifting buffer in their time and sequence order.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the time-based format further comprises associating a time-stamp for the both the media received over the network and the locally created media as both are stored in the time-shifting buffer, the time-stamp enabling the retrieval of the stored media from the time-shifting buffer in a time sequence order when rendering in the time-shifted mode.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management system is further configured, in the near real-time mode, to cause the communication device to progressively render the media from the one or more participants as received over the network.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management system is further configured, in the time-shifted mode, to cause the communication device to retrieve the media of the conversation from the time-shifting buffer starting from a selected previous point in time in the conversation and to progressively render the retrieved media on the first communication device, wherein the selected previous point in time is selected by a user of the communication device.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management system is further configured to seamlessly transition the rendering of the media of the conversation on the communication device from the time-shifted mode to the near real-time mode by causing the communication device to:
(i) retrieve the stored media of the conversation from the time-shifting buffer starting at a selected previous point in time of the conversation;
(ii) render the retrieved media on the communication device;
(iii) ascertain a catch-up point where the rendering of the retrieved media at the faster rate has caught up to and is substantially concurrent with the received media of the conversation as the media is being received over the network from the one or more participants of the conversation; and
(iv) render the received media of the conversation in the near real-time mode as the media is being received over the network after the catch-up point is ascertained.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the retrieved media is rendered either: (i) at a rate faster than the retrieved media was originally encoded; (ii) by skipping over silence gaps in the retrieved media; or both (i) and (ii).
13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management system is further configured to pause the rendering of the conversation in the near real-time mode by causing the communication device to:
(i) render the received media of the conversation as the received media is received over the network in the near real-time mode;
(ii) pause the near real-time rendering of the media of the conversation when the time-shifted mode is selected at the communication device;
(iii) store the received media of the conversation in the time-shifting buffer as the received media is received over the network during the pause; and
(iv) resuming the rendering of the received media of the conversation as the media is received over the network after the pause.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the conversation management system is further configured to cause the first communication device to optionally first render the received media stored during the pause before resuming the rendering of the received media of the conversation as the media is received over the network.
15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the conversation management system is further configured to cause the first communication device to optionally skip over the rendering of the received media stored during the pause and immediately resume the rendering of the received media of the conversation as the media is received over the network.
16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management system is further configured to enable the communication device to optionally transition rendering of the media of the conversation back and forth between the time-shifted mode and the near real-time mode.
17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication device further comprises a mixer to mix the media from two or more participants of the conversation when rendering.
18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management system is further configured to provide at the communication device a conversation selection function enabling the selection of one conversation among a plurality of conversations for participation.
19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management system is further configured to provide at the communication device one or more conversation management functions for managing multiple conversations on the communication device, the conversation management functions including one or more of the following conversation management functions:
(i) view the status of the plurality of conversations;
(ii) create a new conversation among the plurality of conversations;
(iii) update details of a selected conversation among the plurality of conversations;
(iii) delete one conversation among the plurality of conversations; or
(iv) close one conversation among the plurality of conversations.
20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management system is further configured to provide at the communication device one or more conversation participation functions for managing participation in the conversation, the one or more conversation participation functions including:
(i) start the conversation;
(ii) receive a notification that media from the one or more participants of the conversation has been received over the network; or
(iii) pause the rendering of the media of the conversation.
21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management system is further configured to provide at the communication device one or more conversation rendering control functions for controlling the rendering of the media of the conversation, the one or more conversation rendering control functions including:
(i) catch up to live in the conversation;
(ii) skip to the head of the conversation;
(iii) jump to a previous point in time in the conversation;
(iv) pausing the conversation;
(v) rendering the media of the conversation faster;
(vi) rendering the media of the conversation slower; or
(vii) skipping over silence or gaps in the media of the conversation.
22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management system is further configured to provide at the communication device one or more contact management functions, the contact management functions including one or more of the following:
(i) add a contact to a contact list;
(ii) edit a contact on the contact list;
(iii) delete a contact on the contact list;
(iv) search for a contact in the contact list;
(v) create a participant list from the contact list;
(vi) authorize participants to view the status of the conversation;
(vii) create a contact group;
(viii) edit the contact group; or
(ix) delete the contact group.
23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the media received over the network and the locally created media each comprise one or more of the following types of media: voice, video, text, sensor data, radio signals, position or GPS information, or a combination thereof.
24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication device comprises one of the following: a land-line phone, a wireless phone, cellular phone, a mobile phone, a computer, a radio, a satellite phone, a satellite radio, a tactical radio, a tactical phone, or any other type of communication device.
25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the network comprises a packet-based network, a circuit-based network, a cellular network, a wireless network, a radio based network, a telephone network, a satellite conversation, or a combination thereof.
26. The method of claim 1, wherein the locally created media and the media received over the network constituting the conversation is associated within the time-shifting buffer.
27. The method of claim 1, wherein the locally created media and the media received over the network constituting the conversation is associated within the conversation management system.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method for controlling a channel transmission status, the method comprising:
receiving a command for controlling activation of a secondary carrier; and
setting a channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier to a continuous transmission status within a preset delay time after the secondary carrier is activated, wherein setting the channel transmission status comprises:
setting at least one of a common user equipment discontinuous transmission and discontinuous reception enabled variable (UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled) and a common uplink discontinuous transmission activated variable (UL_DTX_Active) for a primary carrier and the secondary carrier; and
setting, within the preset delay time after the secondary carrier is activated, the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier to the continuous transmission status, wherein at least one of a status of the common UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled and a status of UL_DTX_Active is irrelevant to the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising updating, after the preset delay time, the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier to a status that is the same as a corresponding user equipment channel transmission status before the secondary carrier is activated.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein setting, the channel transmission status comprises:
setting an independent user equipment discontinuous transmission and discontinuous reception enabled variable (UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled) for a primary carrier and the secondary carrier separately;
setting, within the preset delay time after the secondary carrier is activated, a status of UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled corresponding to the secondary carrier to a deactivated status; and
setting the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to the status of UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled corresponding to the secondary carrier.
4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:
updating, after the preset delay time, the status of UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled corresponding to the secondary carrier to a status that is the same as a status of UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled currently corresponding to the primary carrier; and
updating the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to an updated status of UE_DTX_DRX_Enable corresponding to the secondary carrier.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein setting, the channel transmission status comprises:
setting an independent uplink discontinuous transmission activated variable (UL_DTX_Active) for a primary carrier and the secondary carrier separately;
setting, within the preset delay time after the secondary carrier is activated, a status of UL_DTX_Active corresponding to the secondary carrier to a deactivated status; and
setting the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to the status of UL_DTX_Active corresponding to the secondary carrier.
6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising:
updating, after the preset delay time, the status of UL_DTX_Active corresponding to the secondary carrier to a status same as a status of UL_DTX_Active currently corresponding to the primary carrier; and
updating the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to an updated status of UL_DTX_Active corresponding to the secondary carrier.
7. The method according to claim 1, wherein setting, the channel transmission status comprises:
setting a common user equipment discontinuous transmission and discontinuous reception enabled variable (UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled) for a primary carrier and the secondary carrier;
setting, within the preset delay time after the secondary carrier is activated, a status of the common UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled to a deactivated status; and
setting the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to the status of the common UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled.
8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:
updating, after the preset delay time, the status of the common UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled to a status same as a status of corresponding UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled before the secondary carrier is activated; and
updating the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to an updated status of the common UE_DTX_DRX_Enable.
9. The method according to claim 1, wherein setting, after the channel transmission status comprises:
setting a common uplink discontinuous transmission activated variable (UL_DTX_Active) for a primary carrier and the secondary carrier;
setting, within the preset delay time after the secondary carrier is activated, a status of the common UL_DTX_Active to a deactivated status; and
setting the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to the status of the common UL_DTX_Active.
10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:
updating, after the preset delay time, the status of the common UL_DTX_Active to a status same as a status of corresponding UL_DTX_Active before the secondary carrier is activated; and
updating the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to an updated status of the common UL_DTX_Active.
11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
updating, after the preset delay time, the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to at least one of the status of the common UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled and the status of the status of the UL_DTX_Active.
12. The method according to claim 1, wherein a value of the preset delay time is equal to one of a value of an enabling delay parameter in a discontinuous transmission and discontinuous reception parameter, a value of an enabling delay parameter separately set by a network side for the secondary carrier, and a preset fixed delay value.
13. An apparatus for controlling a channel transmission status, comprising:
a receiver, configured to receive a command for controlling activation of a secondary carrier; and
a processor, configured to set, within a preset delay time after the secondary carrier is activated, a channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier to a continuous transmission status after the receiver receives the command for controlling the activation of the secondary carrier, wherein the processor is configured to set at least one of a common user equipment discontinuous transmission and discontinuous reception enabled variable (UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled) and an uplink discontinuous transmission activated variable (UL_DTX_Active) for a primary carrier and the secondary carrier, and configured to set, within the preset delay time after the secondary carrier is activated, the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier to the continuous transmission status, wherein at least one of a status of the common UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled and a status of the UL_DTX_Active is irrelevant to the channel transmission status which corresponds to the secondary carrier.
14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to update, after the preset delay time, the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier to a status same as a corresponding user equipment channel transmission status before the secondary carrier is activated.
15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein,
the processor is configured to set an independent user equipment discontinuous transmission and discontinuous reception enabled variable (UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled) for a primary carrier and the secondary carrier separately, to set, within the preset delay time after the secondary carrier is activated, a status of UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled corresponding to the secondary carrier to a deactivated status, and to set the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to the status of UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled corresponding to the secondary carrier.
16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to update, after the preset delay time, the status of UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled corresponding to the secondary carrier to a status same as a status of UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled currently corresponding to the primary carrier, and to update the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to an updated status of UE_DTX_DRX_Enable corresponding to the secondary carrier.
17. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to set an independent uplink discontinuous transmission activated variable (UL_DTX_Active) for a primary carrier and the secondary carrier separately, to set, within the preset delay time after the secondary carrier is activated, a status of UL_DTX_Active corresponding to the secondary carrier to a deactivated status, and to set the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to the status of UL_DTX_Active corresponding to the secondary carrier.
18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to update, after the preset delay time, the status of UL_DTX_Active corresponding to the secondary carrier to a status same as a status of UL_DTX_Active currently corresponding to the primary carrier, and update the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to an updated status of UL_DTX_Active corresponding to the secondary carrier.
19. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein
the processor is configured to set a common user equipment discontinuous transmission and discontinuous reception enabled variable (UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled) for a primary carrier and the secondary carrier, to set, within the preset delay time after the secondary carrier is activated, a status of the common UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled to a deactivated status, and to set the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to the status of the common UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled.
20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to update, after the preset delay time, the status of the common UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled to a status same as a status of corresponding UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled before the secondary carrier is activated, and update the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to an updated status of the common UE_DTX_DRX_Enable.
21. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to set a common uplink discontinuous transmission activated variable UL_DTX_Active for a primary carrier and the secondary carrier, to set, within the preset delay time after the secondary carrier is activated, a status of the common UL_DTX_Active to a deactivated status, and to set the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to the status of the common UL_DTX_Active.
22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the processor is further configured to update, after the preset delay time, the status of the common UL_DTX_Active to a status same as a status of corresponding UL_DTX_Active before the secondary carrier is activated, and update the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to an updated status of the common UL_DTX_Active.
23. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to update, after the preset delay time, the channel transmission status corresponding to the secondary carrier according to at least one of the status of the common UE_DTX_DRX_Enabled and the status of the UL_DTX_Active.

1. A method of decoding a received data stream, the received data stream comprising at least one packet having a given packet length, wherein respective partitions of the at least one packet have been coded with different error protection rates, wherein respective lengths of the respective partitions are determined by respective predetermined percentages of the packet length wherein the respective predetermined percentages are determined such that a first partition of the packet comprises at least a first original packet partition and the sum of the first partition of the packet and a second partition of the packet comprises at least the first original partition and a second original partition of the packet, the method comprising the acts of:
decoding the respective packet partitions with the different error protection rates; and
outputting the data stream having the respective packet partitions decoded with the different error protection rates.
2. An encoder for coding a data stream, the data stream comprising at least one packet having a given packet length, the encoder comprising:
means for coding respective partitions of the at least one packet with different error protection rates, wherein respective lengths of the respective partitions are determined by respective predetermined percentages of the packet length or of a fraction of the packet length wherein the respective predetermined percentages are determined such that a first partition of the packet comprises at least a first original packet partition and the sum of the first partition of the packet and a second partition of the packet comprises at least the first original partition and a second original partition of the packet; and
means for outputting the data stream with the respective partitions of the at least one packet coded with the different error protection rates.
3. A decoder for decoding a received data stream, the received data stream comprising at least one packet having a given packet length, wherein respective partitions of the at least one packet have been coded with different error protection rates, wherein respective lengths of the respective partitions are determined by respective predetermined percentages of the packet length or a fraction of the packet length, wherein the respective predetermined percentages are determined such that a first partition of the packet comprises at least a first original packet partition and the sum of the first partition of the packet and a second partition of the packet comprises at least the first original partition and a second original partition of the packet, the decoder comprising:
means for decoding the respective packet partitions with the different error protection rates; and
means for outputting the data stream having the respective packet partitions decoded with the different error protection rates.
4. A system configured to transmit a data stream from a transmitter to a receiver, the data stream comprising at least one packet having a given packet length, wherein respective partitions of the at least one packet have been coded with different error protection rates, wherein respective lengths of the respective partitions are determined by respective predetermined percentages of the packet length or a fraction of the packet length wherein the respective predetermined percentages are determined such that a first partition of the packet comprises at least a first original packet partition and the sum of the first partition of the packet and a second partition of the packet comprises at least the first original partition and a second original partition of the packet.
5. The system of claim 4, including a storage medium on which the data stream has been stored.
6. The system of claim 4, further comprising a transmitter for transmitting the data stream, the transmitter comprising: an encoder and antenna means for transmitting the data stream.
7. The system of claim 4, further comprising a receiver for receiving a data stream, the receiver comprising: antenna means for receiving the data stream; and a decoder as claimed in claim 3.
8. A method of coding a data stream, the data stream comprising at least one packet having a given packet length, the method comprising the acts of:
a) coding respective partitions of the at least one packet with different error protection rates, wherein respective lengths of the respective partitions are determined by respective predetermined percentages of the packet length or of a fraction of the packet length; and
b) outputting the data stream with the respective partitions of the at least one packet coded with the different error protection rates,
wherein the respective predetermined percentages are determined such that a first partition of the packet comprises at least a first original packet partition and the sum of the first partition of the packet and a second partition of the packet comprises at least the first original partition and a second original partition of the packet.
9. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the given packet length is determined as a distance between two markers in the data stream, wherein at least one of said two markers indicates a packet start.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A plug for a socket of an airbag, the plug comprising:
a position assurance member having a movable member and a static member, the position assurance member being movable between a transport position and an end position by moving the movable member in relation to the static member; and
a shorting contact, allowing a flow of current through the shorting contact when the position assurance member is in the transport position and preventing the flow of current when the position assurance member is in the end position;
wherein the end position is attainable only when the plug is inserted into the socket.
2. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the movable member comprises a toggle mechanism.
3. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the movable member is formed as one piece.
4. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the position assurance member comprises a spring member which pre-tensions the movable member in a direction of the transport position.
5. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the movable member and the static member are formed as one piece.
6. The plug according to claim 1, wherein a catch is provided on the movable member that secures the position assurance member in the transport position.
7. The plug according to claim 1, wherein at least two catches are provided on the movable member, with one of the at least two catches configured to secure the position assurance member in the transport position and the other of the at least two catches configured to secure the position assurance member in the end position.
8. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the movable member is movable parallel to a direction in which the plug is inserted into the socket.
9. The plug according to claim 1, wherein when the plug is outside of the socket, the movable member of the position assurance member abutting against a shoulder of the plug.
10. The plug according to claim 9, wherein when the plug is outside of the socket, the movable member of the position assurance member is secured in the transport position by the shoulder.
11. The plug according to claim 9, wherein the shoulder comprises a movable spring member.
12. The plug according to claim 9, wherein the shoulder is movable into a state in which it releases the movable member.
13. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the static member comprises at least two plug arms which are approximately opposite each other in relation to a longitudinal axis of the plug and slant outward.
14. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the static member comprises at least one projection that engages in a recess of the socket when the plug is inserted into the socket.
15. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the static member comprises at least two projections that engage in recesses of the socket when the plug is plugged into the socket, the at least two projections being approximately opposite each other in relation to a longitudinal axis of plug.
16. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the plug comprises at least two spring arms that abut against an inside wall of the static member.