U.S. patent application number 13/218332 was filed with the patent office on 2011-12-15 for multi-conferencing capability.
Invention is credited to Birgit A. GEPPERT, Frank M. ROESSLER.
Application Number | 20110305332 13/218332 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40289154 |
Filed Date | 2011-12-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110305332 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
GEPPERT; Birgit A. ; et
al. |
December 15, 2011 |
Multi-Conferencing Capability
Abstract
A system and method for providing the capability to
simultaneously manage multiple conference calls, move participants
in the conference calls from one conference call to another and
subdivide or join multiple conference calls together, and the like,
wherein a participant seeking to initiate conference calls does so
at his or her endpoint by selecting conference call identifiers,
where the identifiers identify conference calls to be created. The
initiating participant then selects the participants to be
associated with the particular calls and confirms the selection.
Upon confirmation of the selection, the conference calls among the
selected participants are established.
Inventors: |
GEPPERT; Birgit A.; (Basking
Ridge, NJ) ; ROESSLER; Frank M.; (Basking Ridge,
NJ) |
Family ID: |
40289154 |
Appl. No.: |
13/218332 |
Filed: |
August 25, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11904716 |
Sep 28, 2007 |
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13218332 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/202.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 1/576 20130101;
H04L 12/1822 20130101; H04M 2203/5018 20130101; H04M 3/563
20130101; H04M 2250/62 20130101; H04M 3/56 20130101; H04M 2201/42
20130101; H04M 2201/38 20130101; H04M 3/564 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/202.01 |
International
Class: |
H04M 3/42 20060101
H04M003/42 |
Claims
1. A system for providing simultaneous management of multiple
conference calls over a network, comprising: a conference call
application, comprising: a first module; a second module which
encapsulates or provides a summary of a current state or
configuration of the conference call topology; and a third module
which renders and provides display on the user interface; a
platform module operatively coupled to the multi-conference
application; and a user interface operatively coupled to the
platform.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first module comprises a
Controller module, the second module comprises a Model module and
the third module comprises a View module.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the Model module notifies the
M-Conf View module of changes that occur in the state of the
topology.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein the View module provides the
display on the user interface located at an endpoint and provides
user inputs or gesture notifications to the Controller module.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the platform module comprises a
user interface service module, a conference service module and a
transport service module.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the platform module is a desk set
environment.
7. The system of claim 5, wherein the desk set environment is a
Sip-based or Skype-based environment, which is implemented in a
peer-to-peer environment to provide interactive communication with
the user device located at the endpoint of the system.
8. The system of claim 2, wherein the Controller module uses the
transport service module to communicate with at least one remote
endpoint via the network.
9. The system of claim 2, wherein the Controller module comprises a
distribution module and a conference host module.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the distribution module at least
one of processes changes to a viewed display provided on the user
device located at the endpoint of the system, delegates changes to
a single conference to the host of the conference, accumulates all
change results from all conference hosts and updates topologies of
all local and remote conference participants.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein the conference host module
updates the conference resources and utilizes a conference services
module pursuant to communicating with the user device at the
endpoint.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the conference resources
comprise at least start conference, add participants, drop
participants and change participant parameters.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 11/904,716 which was filed with the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office on Sep. 28, 2007.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention generally relates to the field of
teleconferencing and, more particularly, to a method for permitting
conference call participants to simultaneously manage multiple
conference calls.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] In a conventional teleconferencing system that utilizes a
conference bridge, a group of people individually call the
conference bridge assigned to the specific conference for a
particular time slot and add themselves to the initial conference
call. During the call, a specific participant can remove themselves
from the conference bridge, and new participants are able to join
the conference call that is currently in progress. When a new
participant wishes to join a conference, the new participant will
not be informed about who is currently at the bridge, i.e., the new
participant will not be provided with the identity of the
participants in the conference call. In addition, the conference
call participants will not be provided with automatic updates with
respect to who is currently participating in the ongoing conference
call, i.e., who has joined or left the conference. The only
notification that is currently provided is a nondescript audible
alert.
[0006] If a participant wants to participate in a second conference
call, the participant is required to "drop" from the first call and
dial into the second conference call. Alternatively, the
participant may switch to a second call via their phone (i.e.,
utilize the conventional call waiting feature) to access the second
conference call, while remaining connected to the original
conference. However, through all of the foregoing connection
cycles, each call has a well-defined "life cycle", which involves a
number of steps. First, the conference call is scheduled by a
specific person, who then distributes the dial-in information to
others who wish to participate in the conference call. Second,
conference call participants call and add themselves to the
conference bridge to participate in the conference call, and then
add themselves to the conference call using the dial-in information
provided in the distribution. Next, the user places the call.
Finally, the participants in the conference call drop from the call
or the allotted time for the call expires. In any event, the end of
the conference call does eventually occur. In such a scenario, it
is not possible to spontaneously extend the duration of the
conference, split up and create a sidebar conference between a
subset of participants without having reserved an additional
conference bridge prior to attempting to establish the sidebar
conference or without needing to call the bridge operator for
assistance with setting up the additional conference calls.
[0007] In other conventional systems, a caller is able to
conference with several people by using his or her calling device
as a local conference bridge. However, the number of participants
in such a system is typically limited to no more than approximately
six participants, where each participant must be added to the
conference one after the other. In addition, the conference call
itself is still "anchored" to a single, controlling calling device,
i.e., the calling device being used as the bridge.
[0008] There are no known products or devices that provide features
and the ability to control conference calls that would overcome the
foregoing limitations of the above-described conventional systems.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method that provides
the capability to simultaneously manage multiple conference calls
from the endpoint, move participants in the conference calls from
one conference call to another and subdivide or join multiple
conference calls together.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] A system and method are disclosed for providing the
capability to simultaneously manage multiple conference calls, move
participants in the conference calls from one conference call to
another and subdivide or join multiple conference calls together.
In particular, the proposed system and method provide a
multi-conferencing capability that allow one or more
teleconferencing participants to manage multiple teleconferences
simultaneously from their endpoints.
[0010] A participant seeking to initiate a conference call does so
at his or her endpoint by selecting a conference call identifier,
where the identifier identifies a conference call to be created.
The initiating participant then selects the participants to be
associated with the particular call and confirms the selection.
Upon confirmation of the selection, the conference call among the
selected participants is established.
[0011] The method of the invention provides symmetric control, in
that any participant has at least some control over how the
creation and evolution of the conference call progresses. By
providing each participant with the capability to control the
creation and evolution of a conference call, each participant is
permitted to move freely from one conference call to another. That
is, each participant at his or her endpoint has the ability to
"shape" their conference calls to suit their changing needs during
the calls. In other words, each participant may split, merge, add,
and delete one or more conference calls that may be in progress. In
contrast to traditional sub-conferences, the method of the
invention has no constraints with respect to splitting and merging
conferences. For example, conferences can be split recursively and
the "life-cycle" of a conference that was split-up can continue
even though the original conference has ended. In addition, each
participant may re-add, re-drop, and remove participants of
conferences calls to suit the needs of each of the
participants.
[0012] The multi-conferencing capability of the present invention
permits the management of multiple conferences simultaneously, as
well as the splitting and merging of conference calls. In addition,
symmetric control at the various participating endpoints is
provided, as well as a smooth transition of conference participants
from one call to another.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become
apparent from the following detailed description considered in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood,
however, that the drawings are exemplary and designed solely for
purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of
the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended
claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not
necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated,
they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures
and procedures described herein.
[0013] Other objects and features of the present invention will
become apparent from the following detailed description considered
in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be
understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for
purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of
the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended
claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not
necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated,
they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures
and procedures described herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The foregoing and other advantages and features of the
invention will become more apparent from the detailed description
of the preferred embodiments of the invention given below with
reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary
multi-conferencing system in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention;
[0016] FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) is an exemplary flow chart illustrating
the steps of the method in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention; and
[0017] FIGS. 3(a) thru 3(h) are exemplary block diagrams of an
embodiment of the method for conference call participants to
simultaneously manage multiple conference calls in accordance with
an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] A system and method are disclosed for providing the
capability to simultaneously manage multiple conference calls, move
participants in the conference calls from one conference call to
another and subdivide or join multiple conference calls together.
In particular, the proposed system and method provide a
multi-conferencing capability that allow one or more
teleconferencing participants to manage multiple teleconferences
simultaneously.
[0019] In contrast to the previously discussed conventional systems
for providing teleconferencing, the multi-conferencing capability
provided by the system and method in accordance with an embodiment
of the invention, departs from the rigid conference bridge paradigm
associated with such conventional systems. Instead, the
multi-conferencing of the present invention provides conference
call participants with the ability to manage multiple conferences
simultaneously. Here, a participant seeking to initiate a
conference call does so at his or her endpoint by selecting a
conference call identifier, where the identifier identifies a
conference call to be created. The initiating participant then
selects the participants to be associated with the particular call
and confirms the selection. Upon confirmation of the selection, the
conference call among the selected participants is established.
[0020] The method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention
provides symmetric control, in that any participant has at least
some control over how the creation and evolution of the conference
calls progresses. By providing each participant with the capability
to control the creation and evolution of a conference call, each
participant is permitted to move freely from one conference call to
another. That is, each participant at his or her endpoint has the
ability to "shape" their conference calls to suit their changing
needs during the calls. In other words, each participant may split,
merge, add, and delete one or more conference calls that may be in
progress. In addition, each participant may re-add, re-drop, and
remove participants of conferences calls to suit the needs of each
of the participants. It should be readily appreciated that
additional access control options may limit this symmetric control,
in a manner appropriate for the situation. However, in accordance
with the contemplated embodiments full symmetric control is
generally supported.
[0021] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a multi-conferencing
system 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. With
reference to FIG. 1, the system includes a multi-conference
application 110 that comprises an M-Conf Model module 115, an
M-Conf View module 120 and an M-Conf Controller module 125. The
M-Conf Model module 115 encapsulates or provides a summary of the
current state or configuration of the multi-conference
topology/model, i.e., who should be part of what call, and notifies
the M-Conf View module 120 of changes that occur in the state of
the model or topology.
[0022] The M-Conf View module 120 renders the model and provides a
display on the user interface located at an endpoint, such as
Endpoint 1 shown in FIG. 1. It should be readily appreciated that
different views are possible, which would change based on the
specific device or user interface implemented at each endpoint. The
M-Conf View module 120 also provides user inputs or gesture
notifications to the M-Conf Controller 125. In addition, the M-Conf
View module 120 utilities a user interface (UI) service 135 module
of an underlying platform module 130. Such an underlying platform
can be either a desk set environment, such as a SIP-based or
Skype-based environment, which is implemented in a peer-to-peer
environment to provide interactive communication with the user
device or interface located at an endpoint of the system. The
configuration of the multi-conferencing system of the invention is
in accordance with design principles and techniques as described in
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/955,915 and U.S. Ser. application No.
10/955,916, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their
entirety.
[0023] With additional reference to FIG. 1, M-Conf Controller 125
uses transport service module 140 to communicate with at least one
remote endpoint, such as endpoint 2 thru endpoint N. As shown in
FIG. 1, communication with the at least one remote endpoint occurs
via a network 150, such as the Internet or a public switched
telephone network (PSTN). It should be appreciated that even though
the PSTN and Internet are shown as one entity, it is also possible
for the PSTN network and the Internet to exist separately, where
each network would interface to the other. Therefore, it is not the
intention of the present invention to be limited to embodiments
where the network is comprised solely of the Internet and the
PSTN.
[0024] Functionally, the M-Conf Controller 125 is internally
divided into two sub-components, i.e., a distribution module and a
conference host module (not shown). The distribution module
processes changes to the view provided on the user device or
interface located at an endpoint of the system, such as indicating
which conferences to add or delete, and the like. The distribution
module also delegates changes to a single conference to the host of
the conference (i.e., Conf Host). In accordance with the invention,
the Conf Host may be local, i.e., at the same endpoint as the
distribution module, or remotely located. In addition, the
distribution module accumulates all change results from all
conference hosts and updates the models of all local and remote
conference participants.
[0025] The conference host module updates the conference resources.
In the preferred embodiment, the conference resources comprise at
least start conference, add participants, drop participants and
change participant parameters. The conference host module utilizes
conference services 145 pursuant to communicating with the user
device at the endpoint. Here, the conference services may be
provided by conventional telephone, telephone private branch
exchange (PBX), conference server or the like.
[0026] FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) is an exemplary flow chart illustrating
the steps of the method in accordance with the invention. The
system is in an idle state and awaits the receipt of requests to
initiate a multi-conference (i.e., a MConRequest), as indicated in
step 200. During the idle state, MCon Requests are received at the
distribution module of the M-Conf controller module 125 from the
M-Conf View module 120, as indicated in step 210, where H denotes
the set of conference hosts (step 215).
[0027] Next, a check is performed to determine whether Host
Requests (HostReq's) are sent to all conference hosts yet, as
indicated in step 220. If HostReq's are sent to all conference
hosts, then the system begins waiting for responses from the host
(HostRes), as indicated in step 225. As shown in FIG. 2(a), host
responses for non-local hosts are received at the distribution
module of the M-Conf controller module 125 via the transport
service module 140, as indicated in step 230. Upon receipt of host
responses, a check is performed to determined whether all
conference hosts have responded to the HostReq's that were sent to
all conference hosts, as indicated in step 235. If all the
responses were not received, then the system returns to waiting for
HostRes's (step 225).
[0028] With P denoting the set of all multi-conference participants
(step 240), a check is then performed to determine whether all
participants in the set P of multi-conference participants have
been notified about the new topology/model, as indicated in step
245. If all participants within the set P of all multi-conference
participants have been notified about the new topology/model, then
the system returns to waiting for MConf Requests (step 200).
[0029] With reference to the check that was performed at step 220
to determine whether Host Requests (HostReq's) are sent to all
conference hosts, if HostReq's were not sent to all conference
hosts, then the next conference host h is selected from the set of
conference hosts H, as indicated in step 250. A HostReq is then
sent to the next conference host via a local communication path if
the host is local, or via the transport service module 140 in the
case of a remote host, as indicated in step 255.
[0030] The HostReq sent to the next conference host is received and
processed by the Conf Host of M-Conf controller 125 during the idle
state of the Conf Host, as indicated in step 260. Next, a check is
made by the Conf Host to determine which participant to drop from
the conference, as indicated in step 265. Next, a check is made by
the Conf Host to determine which participant to add to the
conference, as indicated in step 270. The conference resources are
then updated via the conference services module, as indicated in
step 280. A Host Res is then sent (via the transport service or via
a local communication path), as indicated in step 290 and a return
to the idle state occurs.
[0031] With reference to the check that was performed at step 245
to determine whether participants in the set P of multi-conference
participants have been notified about the new topology/model, if
all participants within the set P of all multi-conference
participants have not been notified about the new topology/model,
then the next participant p is selected from the set P of
multi-conference participants, as indicated in step 295. The
notification of the next participant p is forwarded from the
distribution module of the M-Conf controller 125 to the M-Conf
model 115 via the transport service for use in updating remote user
interfaces of the conference participants or directly to the M-Conf
model at the same endpoint for local updating of the M-Conf view
module of the participant, as indicated in step 300. The M-Conf
model module receives the notification from the transport service
module 140 during idle states, as indicated in step 305. Next, the
view shown to the conference participant on the user device or
interface is updated via the M-Conf view module, as indicated in
step 310, and a return to the idle state occurs.
[0032] FIGS. 3(a) thru 3(h) is an exemplary block diagram of an
embodiment of the method for conference call participants to
simultaneously manage multiple conference calls in accordance with
the invention. In accordance with the exemplary embodiment, a
conference call is established among a team of employees of a
company, for example. With reference to FIG. 3(a), a first
participant H at a first endpoint seeks to create a first
conference call that involves a second participant P and a third
participant D to discuss a new product, for example. Using her
endpoint Graphical User Interface (GUI), which shows potential
participants P and D, participant H selects the first conference
call and participants P and D, and creates the call with the push
of a single button. As shown in FIG. 3(b), all participants in the
conference call are displayed on the GUI unit at each endpoint. As
a result, all of the participants are able to see who is currently
participating in the conference on their respective GUI.
[0033] Naturally, it will be appreciated that H, P and D converse
during the teleconference. In accordance with the exemplary
embodiment, a decision is made during the conference call to add an
additional participant J to the conference call, as shown in FIG.
3(c). Here, participant P can then add a fourth participant J to
the first conference call from his endpoint. One reason for P being
the participant to add participant J to the conference call is
based on convenience, such as because participant J is located in
the contact list of participant P. Upon addition of participant J
to the conference call, the GUIs of participant H and participant D
become updated to show that participant J is an additional
participant in the conference call, as shown in FIG. 3(d). It
should be readily understood that participant H could just as
easily be the person to initiate the addition of participants to
the conference call.
[0034] During the conference call, participant D can split the
first conference call into a pair of calls by using his endpoint
device when he wishes to conduct a "sidebar" conversation with
participant J, as shown in FIG. 3(e). Here, the GUI of participant
D shows that participants H and P are grouped together and that
participants D and J are grouped together to indicate that a split
of the first conference call between the participants has occurred.
As shown in FIG. 3(f), the split of the conference call involves a
first call involving participant H and participant P and a second
call involving participant D and participant J. In addition, the
GUIs of all four participants will show the two conference calls
with corresponding participants.
[0035] Finally, it is possible to move participant P, who is
involved in the conference call with participant H, into the
conference call that participant J is involved in by selecting the
image of participant P (or any other representation of P such as
his or her name) shown on the GUI of participant J, as shown in
FIG. 3(g). The movement of participant P into her call (e.g., the
second conference call) occurs without having to move participant H
into the conference call, who is leaving the conference call to
attend a meeting, and does so, as indicated in FIG. 3(h)). It
should be appreciated that participant H was the original initiator
of the conference call. However, it is possible for a conference
call to continue even though the originator of the conference call
may leave the group. The details associated with the apparatus or
endpoint device are described in U.S. application Ser. No.
11/XXX,XXX, titled Telecommunications Endpoint for Managing
Multi-Conferencing, filed Sep. 28, 2007, (Attorney Docket No.
5123-59) the contents of which are incorporated herein in its
entirety.
[0036] Using the multi-conferencing capability of the present
invention, the simultaneous management of multiple conferences is
permitted, as well as the splitting and merging of conference
calls. In addition, symmetric control at the various participating
endpoints and a smooth transition of conference participants from
one call to another is achieved.
[0037] Thus, while we have shown and described and pointed out
fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a
preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various
omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of
the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by
those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the
invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all
combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform
substantially the same function in substantially the same way to
achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention.
Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements
and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any
disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated
in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment
as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention,
therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the
claims appended hereto.
* * * * *