VIDEOCONFERENCING HARDWARE

• US 20020154210A1
• Filed: 04/07/1997
• Published: 10/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/1993
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pragmatus AV LLC (Pragmatus, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Collaboration Properties Incorporated
• Inventors: LANTZ, KEITH A., LAUWERS, J. CHRIS, BURNS, EMMETT R., BURNETT, GERALD J., LUDWIG, LESTER F.
• Granted Patent: US 6,583,806 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/14.08
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• 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 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• 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 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1836 with heterogeneous network architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5018 Initiating a conference during a two-party conversation, i.e. three-party service or three-way call
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5027 Dropping a party from a conference
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42221 : Conversation recording systems at the subscriber's set H04M1/656
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42323 : PBX's with CTI arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4285 : Notifying, informing or entertaining a held party while on hold, e.g. Music On Hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5307 : for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/562 : where the conference facilities are distributed
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/563 : User guidance or feature selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/564 : whereby the feature is a sub-conference
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 : Multimedia conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 : Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 : for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
• 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 7/148 : Interfacing a video terminal to a particular transmission medium, e.g. ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 : Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/152 : Multipoint control units therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1305 : Software aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13093 : Personal computer, PC
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13175 : Graphical user interface [GUI], WWW interface, visual indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1319 : Amplifier, attenuation circuit, echo suppressor
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1322 : PBX
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1324 : Conference call
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1326 : Consultation call, broker's call, call hold, toggling
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1332 : Logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13337 : Picturephone, videotelephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13389 : LAN, internet

Abstract

In accordance with the present invention, computer hardware, software and communications technologies are combined in novel ways to produce a multimedia collaboration system that greatly facilitates distributed collaboration, in part by replicating the benefits of face-to-face collaboration. The system tightly integrates a carefully selected set of multimedia and collaborative capabilities, principal among which are desktop teleconferencing and multimedia mail.

Claims

1. A teleconferencing apparatus comprising a unitary housing including:

(a) AV capture and reproduction capabilities for capturing video images and spoken audio of a participant in a videoconference;

(b) a monitor for displaying visual images associated with at least one participant;

(c) audio reproduction capabilities; and

(d) an echo canceler to reduce echo during the reproduction of the audio.

2. The teleconferencing apparatus of claim 1, further including:

(a) an audio summer for receiving the captured audio of a first, second and third participant and combining the received audio of the second and third participants into an audio sum for reproduction at the apparatus of the first participant.

3. The teleconferencing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the AV capture and reproduction capabilities include a plurality of speakers, the apparatus further including:

(a) an audio control configured to cause the reproduction of the audio sum at the first participant'"'"'s workstation such that the composition of the audio originating from each of the second and third participants reproduced at each speaker is dependent on a position of the second and third participant images reproduced on the first participant'"'"'s workstation monitor.

4. The teleconferencing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the housing further includes at least two echo cancelers.

5. The teleconference system according to claim 2, further including:

(a) a wireless communications connection between the housing and a signal transmitting network; and

(b) a docking station for adding bandwidth to signals at the housing.

6. The teleconferencing system according to claim 5, wherein the wireless communications connection is configured to accept signals transmitted by cellular telephone channels.

7. A teleconferencing system for conducting a teleconference among a plurality of participants, comprising:

(a) a plurality of workstations each including a unitary housing having a first monitor for displaying visual images, and AV capture and reproduction capabilities for capturing and reproducing video images and spoken audio of the participants, and

(b) a first network providing a data path along which data can be shared among a plurality of the participants and displayed on at least one of the first monitors;

(c) a second network providing an AV path, for carrying AV signals representing video images and spoken audio of the participants, among the workstations for reproduction at least one monitor associated with the workstation of participant.

8. The teleconferencing system of claim 7, further comprising:

(a) at least one second monitor for displaying visual images associated with at least one workstation.

9. The teleconference system according to claim 8, wherein the second monitor is affixed to a side portion of the first monitor at approximately the eye-level of a participant in a teleconference who is using the workstation.

10. The teleconferencing system of claim 8, further comprising:

(a) an echo canceler to reduce echo during the reproduction of the audio.

11. The teleconferencing system of claim 8, further comprising:

(a) an audio summer for receiving the captured audio of a first, second and third participant and combining the received audio of the second and third participants into an audio sum for reproduction at the workstation of the first participant.

12. The teleconferencing system of claim 11, wherein the AV capture and reproduction capabilities include a plurality of speakers, the system further including:

(a) an audio control configured to cause the reproduction of the audio sum at the first participant'"'"'s workstation such that the composition of the audio originating from each of the second and third participants reproduced at each speaker is dependent on a position of the second and third participant images reproduced the first participant'"'"'s workstation monitor.

13. The teleconferencing system of claim 10, wherein the housing further includes at least two echo cancelers.

14. The teleconferencing system of claim 7, further comprising:

(a) a wireless communications connection between the workstation and a signal transmitting network; and

(b) a docking station for adding bandwidth to signals at a workstation.

15. The teleconferencing system of claim 14, wherein the wireless communications connection is configured to accept signals transmitted by cellular telephone channels.