Dynamic distribution of participants in a centralized telephone conference

• US 20030026214A1
• Filed: 07/12/2002
• Published: 02/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Corneliussen, Knut Snorre Bach, Iveland, Espen, Skjaeran, Espen
• Granted Patent: US 7,274,675 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/260
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/185 wireless packet-switched
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/562 where the conference facilities are distributed
• 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

Abstract

A method for distributing participants of a conference handled by a first conference unit in a packet switched network is disclosed. This is provided by, when a first condition is reached, locating a second conference unit satisfying a second condition, reserving conference call capacity in said second conference unit, transferring one or more of said participants from the first to the second conference unit and preferably entering said first conference unit as a participant in said second conference unit, wherein data streams of possible conference participants still attached to the first conference unit are mixed in the first conference unit and communicated as one data stream to the second conference unit.

The invention is particularly useful when applied to the SIP protocol in a 3GPP network.

Claims

1. Method of distributing participants of a conference handled by a first conference unit in a packet switched network, characterized in when a first condition is reached,

a. locating a second conference unit satisfying a second condition,

b. reserving conference call capacity in said second conference unit,

c. transferring one or more of said participants from the first to the second conference unit.

d. entering said first conference unit as a participant in said second conference unit, wherein data streams of possible conference participants still attached to the first conference unit are mixed in the first conference unit and communicated as one data stream to the second conference unit.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first condition is reached when the number or ratio of the participants localized in a second domain different from a first domain, in which said first conference unit is localized, exceeds a first pre-defined threshold.

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the second conference unit satisfies the second condition if it is localized in the second domain and has sufficient unoccupied capacity for receiving the one or more of said participants from the first conference unit.

4. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first condition is reached when the number of participants exceeds a second predefined threshold.

5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the second conference unit satisfies the second condition if it is localized in the same domain as the first conference unit and has sufficient unoccupied capacity for receiving one or more of said participants from the first conference unit.

6. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conference units and the participants communicates according to a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that locating the second conference unit is executed by sending an INVITE message with a Universal Resource Identifier (URI) indicating a new ad-hoc conference to the domain of current interest.

8. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that when the second conference unit is located by receiving a positive acknowledge therefrom, the first conference unit starts transferring the one or more participants by the following steps:

putting the one or more participants on hold,

requesting the second conference unit to invite the one or more participants to the second conference unit,

releasing the one or more participants from the first conference unit.

9. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the packet switched network is a 3GPP network, and the conference units are Media Resource Function (MRF) units.