Initiating a conference call via radio frequency beacons

• US 10,033,874 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2016
• Issued: 07/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Crestron Electronics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Crestron Electronics Incorporated
• Inventors: Bargetzi, Fred, Jackson, Daniel, Donlan, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Jung, Min
• Application Number:
  US15/042,204
• Publication Number:
  US 20160165056A1
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0295 Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/751 Comparing pixel values or logical combinations thereof, or feature values having positional relevance, e.g. template matching
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/12 Use of DVI or HDMI protocol in interfaces along the display data pipeline
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/155 Ground-based stations H04B7/204 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/565 relating to time schedule aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0027 Collaboration services where a computer is used for data transfer and the telephone is used for telephonic communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 : Handheld terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 : Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/155 : involving storage of or access to video conference sessions tracking arrangements for later retrieval of a computer conference content or participants activities H04L12/1831
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 : using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 : Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 : Terminal devices

Abstract

Systems, methods, and modes are disclosed for initiating a conference call on a conferencing endpoint from a portable electronic device. The system comprises a conferencing endpoint associated with a network address and configured for receiving conferencing information and using said conferencing information to dial a conference call. The system also comprises a portable electronic device comprising a network interface configured for enabling communication between the portable electronic device and the conferencing endpoint. The portable electronic device pairs with the conferencing endpoint using the conferencing endpoint network address. The portable electronic device transmits dialing or conferencing information to the conferencing endpoint by accessing a calendar application, accessing a scheduled meeting event associated with the calendar application, retrieving conferencing information associated with the scheduled meeting event, and transmitting the conferencing information to the conferencing endpoint.

Claims

1. A system for initiating a conference call on a conferencing endpoint from a portable electronic device comprising:

a conferencing endpoint associated with a network address and configured for receiving conferencing information and using said conferencing information to dial a conference call;

one or more RF beacons each associated with a conferencing endpoint and configured for broadcasting information comprising an application identifier;

a portable electronic device associated with a user ID and comprising at least one network interface configured for enabling communication between the portable electronic device and the conferencing endpoint and between the portable electronic device and the one or more RF beacons, a display, a memory encoding one or more processor-executable instructions, and a processor configured to load the one or more processor-executable instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause acts to be performed comprising;

receiving from at least one of the one or more RF beacons the broadcasted information including the application identifier,

transmitting the broadcasted information to an application associated with the application identifier,

estimating a distance to the at least one of the one or more RF beacons according to a detected signal strength of the RF beacon broadcast,

determining a location of the portable electronic device based on the distance to the at least one of the one or more RF beacons,

identifying the conferencing endpoint network address based on the determined location,

pairing with the conferencing endpoint using the identified conferencing endpoint network address,

accessing a calendar application,

accessing a scheduled meeting event associated with the calendar application,

retrieving conferencing information associated with the scheduled meeting event, and

transmitting the conferencing information to the conferencing endpoint.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the conference call comprises audio, video, or a combination thereof.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the conferencing information comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of an audio conference bridge number, a passcode, a phone number, an IP address, a username of a voice over IP system, a meeting URL, a network communication protocol, a SIP URI, an ID for a VMR, or any combinations thereof.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the conferencing information is retrieved from the scheduled meeting event by:

scanning data fields of the scheduled meeting event.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the data fields are scanned using predetermined regular expression (REGEX) search pattern strings.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the data fields comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of a meeting organizer field, a meeting attendees field, a subject field, a title, a description, a location field, a date field, a start time field, an end time field, a meeting body field, a notes field, an attachment field, a contacts field, and a conferencing information field.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the accessed scheduled meeting event is stored on the portable electronic device or on a remote server.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processor-executable instructions cause further acts to be performed comprising:

selecting the scheduled meeting event.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the scheduled meeting event is selected by:

identifying a scheduled meeting event that corresponds to a current date and time of day.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the scheduled meeting event is selected by:

displaying a user interface comprising a list of scheduled meeting events and a meeting event selection configured for receiving a selection of a scheduled meeting event.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more processor-executable instructions cause further acts to be performed comprising:

retrieving conferencing information associated with each scheduled meeting event in the list of scheduled meeting events,

identifying connection types for the retrieved conferencing information of the list of scheduled meeting events, and

for each scheduled meeting event in the list of scheduled meeting events, displaying an icon configured for identifying the identified connection type.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processor-executable instructions cause further acts to be performed comprising:

selecting the conferencing information.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the conferencing information is selected by:

identifying a connection type supported by the conferencing endpoint; and

selecting the conferencing information that corresponds to the connection type supported by the conferencing endpoint.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein when a plurality of connection types are identified supported by the conferencing endpoint, and wherein when the conferencing information comprises conferencing information for multiple connection types, the conferencing information is selected with a fastest connection speed.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein when a plurality of connection types are identified supported by the conferencing endpoint, and wherein when the conferencing information comprises conferencing information for multiple connection types, the conferencing information is selected based on a stored ranking table.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processor-executable instructions cause further acts to be performed comprising:

receiving call status information from the conferencing endpoint, and

displaying a user interface on the display of the portable electronic device comprising the call status information.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processor-executable instructions cause further acts to be performed comprising:

transmitting a control command to the conferencing endpoint configured for controlling an operation of the conferencing endpoint.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the control command comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a start conference call command, an end conference call command, a volume command, and a mute command.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the broadcasted information of each of the one or more RF beacons comprises a network address of the conferencing endpoint associated with a respective RF beacon.

20. The system of claim 19,

wherein the location of the portable electronic device is determined by identifying a nearest RF beacon by comparing the detected signal strengths of the at least one of the one or more RF beacons and identifying the strongest received signal, and

wherein the conferencing endpoint network address is identified by identifying the conferencing endpoint network address received from the nearest RF beacon.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the broadcasted information of each of the one or more RF beacons comprises a beacon ID, wherein each beacon ID is associated with a conferencing endpoint network address.

22. The system of claim 21,

wherein the location of the portable electronic device is determined by identifying a nearest RF beacon by comparing the detected signal strengths of the at least one of the one or more RF beacons and identifying the strongest received signal, and

wherein the conferencing endpoint network address is identified by identifying the conferencing endpoint network address associated with a beacon ID received from the nearest RF beacon.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the association between each beacon ID and conferencing endpoint network address is stored in the memory of the portable electronic device.

24. The system of claim 22,

wherein the association between each beacon ID and conferencing endpoint network address is stored on a remote server, and

wherein the conferencing endpoint network address is identified by querying the remote server with a beacon ID received from the nearest RF beacon to identify an associated network address of a conferencing endpoint.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein when the portable electronic device receives broadcasted information from only a single RF beacon, the portable electronic device pairs with a conferencing endpoint associated with the single RF beacon.

26. The system of claim 1, wherein the location of the portable electronic device is determined via trilateration.

27. The system of claim 1, wherein the location of the portable electronic device is determined by:

determining location coordinates of the portable electronic device via trilateration,

mapping the location coordinates on a floor plan, and

identifying an area in which the portable electronic device is located.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the floor plan is stored in the memory of the portable electronic device or a remote server.

29. The system of claim 27, further comprising one or more area records each associated with an area and comprising a network address of a conferencing endpoint installed in the area.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the one or more area records are stored in the memory of the portable electronic device or a remote server.

31. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processor-executable instructions cause further acts to be performed comprising:

receiving from a remote server a schedule of the determined location of the portable electronic device,

identifying a scheduled meeting event that corresponds to a current date and time of day,

accessing a list of meeting participants for the identified scheduled meeting event,

determining whether the user ID matches a user ID in the list of meeting participants,

upon finding a match, pairing the portable electronic device with the conferencing endpoint, and

upon not finding a match, preventing the portable electronic device to pair with the conferencing endpoint.

32. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processor-executable instructions cause further acts to be performed comprising:

receiving from a remote server a schedule of the determined location of the portable electronic device;

when a status indicator for the location is vacant for a current date and time of day, designating the status indicator for the location as booked after pairing the portable electronic device with the conferencing endpoint.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the one or more processor-executable instructions cause further acts to be performed comprising:

prompting a user to indicate a length of time period the user wishes to use the location.

34. The system of claim 1, wherein each conferencing endpoint network address comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of an IP address, an URI address, an URL address, a host name, and any combination thereof.

35. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more RF beacons is configured for broadcasting the information according to at least one of a Bluetooth protocol, and an NFC protocol.

36. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processor-executable instructions cause further acts to be performed comprising:

determining an access level of the user ID to the paired conferencing endpoint, wherein the access level comprises rules that restrict communication between the portable electronic device and the paired conferencing endpoint.

37. The system of claim 1, wherein the portable electronic device comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a laptop computer, a smartphone, and a tablet.

38. A system for initiating a conference call on a conferencing endpoint from a portable electronic device comprising:

a conferencing endpoint associated with a network address and configured for receiving conferencing information and using said conferencing information to dial a conference call;

one or more RF beacons each associated with a conferencing endpoint and configured for broadcasting information comprising an application identifier;

a portable electronic device associated with a user ID and comprising at least one network interface configured for enabling communication between the portable electronic device and the one or more RF beacons and between the portable electronic device and the conferencing endpoint, a display, a memory encoding one or more processor-executable instructions, and a processor configured to load the one or more processor-executable instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause acts to be performed comprising;

receiving from at least one of the one or more RF beacons the broadcasted information including the application identifier,

transmitting the broadcasted information to an application associated with the application identifier,

estimating a distance to the at least one of the one or more RF beacons according to a detected signal strength of the RF beacon broadcast,

determining a location of the portable electronic device based on the distance to the at least one of the one or more RF beacons,

identifying the conferencing endpoint network address based on the determined location,

pairing with the conferencing endpoint using the conferencing endpoint network address,

accessing a calendar application,

selecting a scheduled meeting event associated with the calendar application,

accessing the scheduled meeting event,

scanning data fields of the scheduled meeting event,

retrieving conferencing information associated with the scheduled meeting event, and

transmitting the conferencing information to the conferencing endpoint.

39. A method for initiating a conference call on a conferencing endpoint from a portable electronic device comprising:

receiving by a portable electronic device broadcasted information including an application identifier from one or more RF beacons, wherein each of the one or more RF beacons is associated with a conferencing endpoint, wherein each conferencing endpoint is associated with a network address;

transmitting the broadcasted information to an application associated with the application identifier,

estimating a distance of the portable electronic device to at least one of the one or more RF beacons according to a detected signal strength of the RF beacon broadcast,

determining a location of the portable electronic device based on the distance to the at least one of the one or more RF beacons,

identifying the conferencing endpoint network address based on the determined location,

pairing the portable electronic device with a conferencing endpoint using the identified conferencing endpoint network address,

accessing a calendar application,

accessing a scheduled meeting event associated with the calendar application,

retrieving conferencing information associated with the scheduled meeting event, and

transmitting the conferencing information to the conferencing endpoint for dialing a conference call.