Method and device for providing conferences

• US 20040218553A1
• Filed: 08/20/2003
• Published: 11/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Siemens Networks GmbH & Company KG (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Lobig, Norbert, Friedrich, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 7,180,992 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/260
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5027 Dropping a party from a conference conducting a computer conference, e.g. admission detection H04L12/1822
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/12 Marking faulty circuits "busy"; Enabling equipment to disengage itself from faulty circuits ; Using redundant circuits; Response of a circuit, apparatus or system to an error
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/20 with means for interrupting existing connections; with means for breaking-in on conversations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• 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

Abstract

The invention provides assistance, by providing a control interface between a recognition or announcement/dialog function with voice recognition functionality and a conference management function, via which the conference can be controlled and monitored in an automated manner. The recognition or announcement/dialog function switches to the individual conferences in succession under the control of the conference management function, monitors the combined stream of all voice data emitted by the conferees in an interim check. If disruptive data is detected, the conference management function associates the disruptive data with the conferee emitting the data. The recognition or announcement/dialog function to the individual participants in the conference is switched in succession. If the conferee emitting the disruptive data is detected in this process and this conferee is identified as a disruptive party as a result, the conferee is automatically switched to silent or removed entirely from the conference.

Claims

1. A method for eliminating disruptive parties from conferences, with at least one recognition function and at least one conference function, comprising:

providing a conference management function, which accesses ongoing conferences in succession, with a combined stream comprising voice information of participants in at least one of the conferences being subjected by a recognition function to a first check for disruptive data;

if disruptive data is detected in the combined stream by the conference management function, associating identified disruptive data with the participant emitting the disruptive data, by accessing the voice data of the participants in the conference being disrupted in succession and the recognition function subjecting the associated voice data stream to a second check for the disruptive data; and

in the event of one of the participants being identified as a disruptive party, the disruptive party is isolated from the conference.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein current characteristic data of conferences and participants is stored in a database, is updated further to a prompt by the conference functions or is retrieved to a prompt from the recognition functions.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the recognition functions are provided with a voice recognition function.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the disruptive data is detected based on disruption criteria, which is configured as increased sound levels, inputting of disruptive tones, abusive language recognized by the voice recognition system or indecent contributions or legally prohibited content.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein switching to a specific conference or a specific participant is effected by the recognition system dialing into a relevant conference system or by direct control of the conference system by the conference management function, such that the data stream of the conference resulting from combination or the incoming data stream of the specific participant to the conference function is forwarded to the recognition function.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein monitoring details formed as VoiceXML scripts are stored on at least one content server accessible to the recognition systems.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein VoiceXML pages including conference points currently available and to be checked are generated by the content server using status parameters obtained from a database and made available to the recognition systems requesting them.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein a participant detected as a disruptive party is isolated by switching to silent or removal from the conference under the control of the conference management function.

9. The method according to claim 2, wherein the conference management function stores data of identified disruptive parties and associated indices for nature and duration of the disruption and measures taken for remedial action in the database.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conference management function has comprehensive knowledge of availability of the conference function and the recognition function and initiates disruptive party monitoring accordingly.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conference management function, the recognition function and the conference function are at least duplicated on at least two different hardware platforms.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conference management function can intervene at any time in the control of a conference and can activate the recognition function routinely and on operator command for disruption monitoring.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conference management function uses a recognition function, which at the same time provides announcement and dialog functions, to inform the disruptive party about the reason for isolation or to offer a range of possible alternatives.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein for network configurations with one or two conference servers, the recognition function/conference management function also operate on the conference system.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first check is omitted and the voice data of the participants is accessed directly in succession and the voice data stream is checked for disruptive data by the recognition functions.

16. A device for eliminating disruptive parties from conferences, with at least one recognition function and at least one conference function, which operate on at least one conference system, comprising a control interface provided between the recognition function and a conference management function, via which the conference management function initiates and controls monitoring for disruptive parties in at least one conference, provides the conference data and receives a result of the monitoring for disruptive parties to initiate measures to eliminate disruptive parties.