Simultaneous participation in a plurality of web conferences

• US 10,237,411 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2010
• Issued: 03/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bastide, Paul Roger, Loredo, Robert E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Madamba, Glenford J
• Application Number:
  US12/796,861
• Publication Number:
  US 20110307550A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,205 Days
• Field of Search: 709203, 709204, 709227
• 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 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4046 with distributed floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/563 User guidance or feature selection

Abstract

A method for simultaneously participating in a plurality web conferences may include generating, by a computer system, a web conference instance for each web conference being joined. The method may also include polling a corresponding web conferencing server for web conference information by each web conference instance on the computer system. The method may additionally include polling for both audio and video information in response to a chosen web conference instance being an active web conference instance on the computer system. The polling may be performed at a predetermined time interval or polling term. The method may further include setting a polling term for each inactive web conference instance on the computer system that is longer than the predetermined time interval or polling term of the active web conference instance.

Claims

1. A method for simultaneously participating in a plurality of web conferences, the method comprising:

generating, by a computer system of a user, a web conference instance on the computer system for each of the plurality of web conferences joined by the user;

polling a corresponding web conferencing server for web conference information by each web conference instance on the computer system;

polling for both audio and video information in response to a chosen web conference instance being an active web conference instance on the computer system, wherein the polling of the active web conference instance is performed at a predetermined time interval while active;

setting a polling term or time interval between polling operations for each inactive web conference instance on the computer system that is longer than the predetermined time interval for the active web conference instance and minimizes use of bandwidth by each inactive web conference instance;

polling only for video information by each inactive web conference instance; and

muting each inactive web conference instance on the computer system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising polling only for video information by each inactive web conference instance.

3. The method of claim 1, detecting a change in the chosen web conference instance by other web conference instances on the computer system in response to the chosen web conference instance switching from an inactive state to becoming the active web conference instance on the computer system.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising polling a client-side service by each of the inactive web conference instances to detect the change in the chosen web conference instance becoming the active web conference instance on the computer system.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the inactive web conference instances go audio-silent or are muted on the computer system of the user in response to detecting the chosen web conference instance becoming active.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising minimizing each web conference instance in response to the web conference instance becoming inactive.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising setting a polling term of each web conference instance to a long term polling time interval in response to the web conference instance becoming inactive, wherein the long term polling time interval is longer than the predetermined time interval.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a list of currently active web conferences.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining a list of currently active web conferences comprises polling a browser to determine the currently active web conferences.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the list of currently active web conferences comprises polling a client-side service to identify each active web conference and a web conferencing server associated with each active web conference.

11. The method of claim 8, presenting the list of currently active web conferences to a user for selecting the web conferences to join.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising setting each web conference into an isolation mode in response to being selected by the user for joining, wherein the isolation mode starts a new integrated privacy-protected browser instance for each web conference joined.

13. A system for simultaneously participating in a plurality of web conferences, the system comprising:

a processor;

a module, operating on the processor, for simultaneously participating in the plurality of web conferences, the module comprising;

a module to generate, on a computer system of a user, a web conference instance for each of the plurality of web conferences joined by the user;

a module for polling a corresponding web conferencing server for web conference information by each web conference instance;

a module for polling for both audio and video information in response to a chosen web conference instance being an active web conference instance, wherein the polling of the active web conference instance is performed at a predetermined time interval while active; and

a module for setting a polling term or time interval between polling operations for each inactive web conference instance that is longer than the predetermined time interval for the active web conference instance and minimizes use of bandwidth by each inactive web conference instance, wherein each inactive web conference instance polls the corresponding web conferencing server only for video information and each inactive web conference instance is muted on the computer system.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein an audio of each inactive web conferencing instance is muted in response to the web conferencing instance becoming inactive.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the active web conference instance is maximized on the processor and the inactive web conference instances are minimized.

16. A computer program product for simultaneously participating in a plurality of web conferences, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to generate, on a computer system of a user, a web conference instance for each of the plurality of web conferences joined by the user;

computer readable program code configured to poll a corresponding web conferencing server for web conference information by each web conference instance;

computer readable program code configured to poll for both audio and video information in response to a chosen web conference instance being an active web conference instance, wherein the polling of the active web conference instance is performed at a predetermined time interval while active;

computer readable program code configured to set a polling term or time interval between polling operations for each inactive web conference instance that is longer than the predetermined time interval for the active web conference instance and minimizes use of bandwidth by each inactive web conference instance;

computer readable program code

configured to poll only for video information by each inactive web conference instance; and

computer readable program code configured to mute each inactive web conference instance.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the computer readable program code further comprises computer readable program code configured to set a polling term of each web conference instance to a long term polling time interval in response to the web conference instance becoming inactive, wherein the long term polling time interval is longer than the predetermined time interval.