Service diversity for communication system

Abstract

A communication transaction or use case is broken down into constituent parts, one of which can be provided, at the direction of a master service node, from the master service node or primary service path and the other of which can be provided from a support service node or secondary service path that the client station might happen to be able to communicate with. For instance, the base layer of a multimedia stream might be provided from the master node, but if its bandwidth becomes full, an enhancement layer of the stream can be provided by the support node, as directed by the master node.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A communication system, comprising: 
 at least a first service node;    at least a second service node; and    at least one client station positioned to communicate with the service nodes over respective first and second channels, the first service node providing a first part of a use case to the client station and the second service node providing a second part of the use case to the client station simultaneously with the provision of the first part by the first service node, the first and second parts being different portions of the use case.    
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first part is a base layer of a multimedia stream and the second part is an enhancement layer of the multimedia stream associated with the base layer.  
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the client station overlays the enhancement layer onto the base layer to establish frames of the multimedia stream, each frame including data from the base layer and data from at least one enhancement layer.  
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one channel is bidirectional.  
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein both channels are bidirectional.  
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the service nodes are wireless communication system base stations.  
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein one of the service nodes is a master node and one of the service nodes is a support node, and the master node directs the client station to receive the second part from the support node.  
     
     
         8 . A method for communication of a single use case to a client station from a service system having at least first and second service resources, comprising: 
 communicating at least a first part of the use case using the first service resource to the client station;    determining whether to direct the client station to receive a second part of the use case from the second service resource, the first and second parts being different from each other in that the second part is not merely duplicative of the first part; and    in response to the determining act, selectively directing the client station to receive the second part from the second service resource.    
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first and second parts are received over respective first and second links.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first service resource is a first server and the second service resource is a second server.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first server is a first wireless communication system base station and the second server is a second base station.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the first part is a base layer of a multimedia stream and the second part is an enhancement layer of the multimedia stream.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the multimedia stream is digitally broadcast.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first service resource is a first trunk line and the second service resource is a second trunk line.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first service resource is a satellite and the second service resource is a terrestrial resource.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the first part is a base layer of a multimedia stream and the second part is an enhancement layer of the multimedia stream.  
     
     
         17 . A client station, comprising: 
 a first receiver receiving a first part of a use case from a first service resource; and    a second receiver receiving a second part of the use case from a second resource simultaneously with reception of the first part.    
     
     
         18 . The client station of  claim 17 , wherein the first and second parts do not represent the same data as each other.  
     
     
         19 . The client station of  claim 18 , wherein the first and second parts are received over respective first and second links.  
     
     
         20 . The client station of  claim 17 , wherein the first service resource is a first server and the second service resource is a second server.  
     
     
         21 . The client station of  claim 20 , wherein the first server is a first wireless communication system base station and the second server is a second base station.  
     
     
         22 . The client station of  claim 21 , wherein the first part is a base layer of a multimedia stream and the second part is an enhancement layer of the multimedia stream.  
     
     
         23 . The client station of  claim 22 , wherein the multimedia stream is digitally broadcast.  
     
     
         24 . The client station of  claim 17 , wherein the first service resource is a first trunk line and the second service resource is a second trunk line.  
     
     
         25 . The client station of  claim 17 , wherein the first service resource is a satellite and the second service resource is a terrestrial resource.  
     
     
         26 . The client station of  claim 25 , wherein the first part is a base layer of a multimedia stream and the second part is an enhancement layer of the multimedia stream.  
     
     
         27 . A system, comprising: 
 first service provisioning means for providing a first part of a use case to a client station; and    second service provisioning means for providing a second part of a use case to the client station, the first and second parts not representing the same data as each other.    
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the first and second provisioning means are first and second trunk lines, respectively.  
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the first service provisioning means is a first server and the second service provisioning means is a second server.  
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 29 , wherein the first server is a first wireless communication system base station and the second server is a second base station.  
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the first part is a base layer of a multimedia stream and the second part is an enhancement layer of the multimedia stream.  
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the multimedia stream is digitally broadcast.  
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the first service provisioning means is a satellite and the second service provisioning means is a terrestrial provisioning means.  
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the first part is a base layer of a multimedia stream and the second part is an enhancement layer of the multimedia stream.