Method and apparatus for mixed mode multimedia conferencing

• US 20060293073A1
• Filed: 06/22/2005
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rengaraju, Ganesan, Jagadesan, Balakumar, Willis, Lawrence A., Oswald, Gary J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,499,719 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/518
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

A method and apparatus is provided for mixed mode conference call setup. The method includes the steps of inviting users to a mixed mode conference call by providing invitation information from an inviting user to a server and thereby providing invitations from the server to each of the users. The invitation information indicates the users, the modes acceptable for the conference call and the mode accepted by the inviting user. The invitations from the server include information indicating the modes acceptable for the conference call. The users provide a response to the server which includes information indicating a selected mode accepted by each user. The server sets up a conference call where each of the users and the inviting user communicate in the selected modes accepted by each.

Claims

1. A method for mixed mode conference call setup comprising the steps of:

inviting at least one user to a mixed mode conference call by providing invitation information from an inviting user to a server indicating the at least one user, a plurality of modes acceptable for the mixed mode conference call and a selected one of the plurality of modes accepted by the inviting user;

providing invitations from the server to each of the at least one user, the invitation including information indicating the plurality of modes acceptable for the mixed mode conference call;

the at least one user providing a response to the server including information indicating a selected one of the plurality of modes which has been accepted by the at least one user; and

the server setting up a conference call where each of the at least one user and the inviting user communicate in the selected ones of the plurality of modes accepted thereby.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the mixed mode conference call is a radio frequency (RF) conference call over RF communication channels.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the RF conference call is a Push-To-Video (PTV) conference call.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of modes includes a mode selected from the group of an audio-only mode, an audio and video mode, and an audio and video-mute mode.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the at least one user providing a response to the server includes the step of each of the at least one user providing a response to the server including information indicating a lower bandwidth requiring mode of the plurality of modes has been accepted by the user;

and

providing a message to the inviting user requesting the inviting user to confirm that a lower bandwidth requiring conference call is acceptable.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of setting up the call comprises the step of, in response to receiving a response from the inviting user that the lower bandwidth requiring conference call is acceptable, setting up a lower bandwidth requiring conference call where each of the at least one user and the inviting user communicate in the lower bandwidth requiring mode for the lower bandwidth requiring conference call.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the lower bandwidth requiring conference call is an audio-only mode corference call.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the server setting up the conference call comprises the steps of:

setting up a communication channel for the inviting user to communicate with each of the at least one user, the communication channel having a bandwidth selected in response to the selected one of the plurality of modes accepted by the inviting user; and

setting up at least one communication channel for each of the at least one user to communicate with the inviting user and all others of the at least one user, each of the at least one communication channel having a bandwidth selected in response to the selected one of the plurality of modes accepted by the corresponding one of the at least one user.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the steps of:

after the step of the server setting up the at least one communication channel, one of the at least one user communicating on one of the at least one communication channel having a first bandwidth;

the one of the at least one user sending a request to the server comprising information indicating that the one of the at least one user desires to downgrade the selected one of the plurality of modes previously selected by the one of the at least one user; and

the server setting up a new communication channel for the one of the at least one user, the new communication channel having a second bandwidth selected in response to the request of the one of the at least one user, the second bandwidth being smaller than the first bandwidth.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising the steps of:

after the step of the server setting up the at least one communication channel, one of the at least one user communicating on one of the at least one communication channel having a first bandwidth;

the one of the at least one user sending a request to the server comprising information indicating that the one of the at least one user desires to upgrade the selected one of the plurality of modes previously selected by the one of the at least one user; and

the server setting up a new communication channel for the one of the at least one user, the new communication channel having a second bandwidth selected in response to the request of the one of the at least one user, the second bandwidth being larger than the first bandwidth.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the at least one user providing a response to the server includes the step of the at least one user providing an automatic response to the server including information indicating a selected one of the plurality of modes selected in response to an early media auto mode of the at least one user.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the at least one user providing a response to the server includes the steps of:

the at least one user receiving the invitation;

the at least one user selecting one of the plurality of modes acceptable for the mixed mode conference call; and

the at least one user providing a response to the server including information indicating the selected one of the plurality of modes selected by the at least one user.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of storing an early session configuration setting for a predetermined user input, and

wherein the step of inviting the at least one user to a mixed mode conference call includes the steps of:

providing the predetermined user input; and

inviting at least one user to a mixed mode conference call by providing invitation information from the inviting user to the server indicating the at least one user, a plurality of modes acceptable for the mixed mode conference call and a selected one of the plurality of modes accepted by the inviting user, wherein the mixed mode conference call, the plurality of modes acceptable therefor, and the selected one of the plurality of modes accepted by the inviting user are defined by the early session configuration setting in response to predetermined user input.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the early session configuration setting is a setting selected from the group of Push-To-Video (PTV) Chat, PTV Stream and Push-To-Talk (PTT).

15. A server in a communication system comprising a plurality of user entities, the server comprising:

an input handler coupled to the communication system for receiving invitation information from an inviting user entity, the inviting user entity being one of the plurality of user entities and the invitation information indicating at least one of the plurality of user entities as an invited user entity, a plurality of modes acceptable for a mixed mode conference call and a selected one of the plurality of modes accepted by the inviting user entity, the input handler further receiving messages from the plurality of user entities;

a conference call invitation controller coupled to the input handler for generating an invitation message in response to the invitation information, the invitation message comprising information indicating the plurality of modes acceptable for the mixed mode conference call;

an output handler coupled to the conference call invitation controller and the communication system for providing the invitation message to the communication system for transmitting to the invited user entity; and

a conference call controller coupled to the input handler for receiving the messages therefrom and determining in response to the messages one of the plurality of modes accepted by the invited user entity, the conference call controller setting up the mixed mode conference call where the invited user entity and the inviting user entity communicate on selected ones of a plurality of communication channels in response to the selected ones of the plurality of modes accepted thereby.

16. The server of claim 15 wherein the conference call controller provides a message to the inviting user entity requesting the inviting user entity to confirm that a lower bandwidth requiring conference call is acceptable in response to determining that the responses for each of the invited user entity included information indicating a lower bandwidth requiring mode of the plurality of modes had been accepted by each of the invited user entity, and, thereafter, in response to receiving a response from the inviting user entity that the lower bandwidth requiring conference call is acceptable, setting up a lower bandwidth requiring conference call as the mixed mode conference call wherein each of the invited user entity and the inviting user entity communicate in the lower bandwidth requiring mode for the lower bandwidth requiring conference call.

17. The server of claim 15 wherein the conference call controller, after setting up the mixed mode conference call, sets up a second one of the plurality of communication channels for one of plurality of user entities and terminates a first one of the plurality of communication channels for the one of the plurality of user entities in response to one of the messages from the one of the plurality of user entities indicating that the one of the plurality of user entities desires to downgrade the selected one of the plurality of modes previously selected by the one of the plurality of user entities, the second one of the plurality of communication channels having a second bandwidth smaller than a first bandwidth of the first one of the plurality of communication channels.

18. The server of claim 15 wherein the conference call controller, after setting up the mixed mode conference call, sets up a second one of the plurality of communication channels for one of plurality of user entities and terminates a first one of the plurality of communication channels for the one of the plurality of user entities in response to one of the messages from the one of the plurality of user entities indicating that the one of the plurality of user entities desires to upgrade the selected one of the plurality of modes previously selected by the one of the plurality of user entities, the second one of the plurality of communication channels having a second bandwidth larger than a first bandwidth of the first one of the plurality of communication channels.

19. A communication system comprising:

a plurality of user entities wherein one of the plurality of user entities can choose to be an inviting user entity for initiating a mixed mode conference call and wherein the inviting user entity can choose at least one other of the plurality of user entities to be an invited user entity, each of the plurality of user entities capable of being coupled to other of the plurality of user entities on one of a plurality of communication channels; and

a server coupled to the inviting user entity and capable of coupling to other ones of the plurality of user entities, the server comprising;

a conference call invitation controller for generating an invitation message in response to information received from the inviting user entity, the invitation message indicating a plurality of modes acceptable for the mixed mode conference call; and

a conference call controller for determining which of the plurality of modes have been accepted by each invited user entity and for setting up the mixed mode conference call where each of the invited user entity and the inviting user entity communicate on selected ones of the plurality of communication channels in response to the selected ones of the plurality of modes accepted thereby.

20. The communication system of claim 19 wherein the conference call controller, after setting up the mixed mode conference call, sets up a second one of the plurality of communication channels for one of plurality of user entities and terminates a first one of the plurality of communication channels for the one of the plurality of user entities in response to the one of the plurality of user entities indicating that the one of the plurality of user entities desires to change the selected one of the plurality of modes previously selected by the one of the plurality of user entities, the second one of the plurality of communication channels having a second bandwidth smaller than a first bandwidth of the first one of the plurality of communication channels if the one of the plurality of user entities indicates that the one of the plurality of user entities desires to downgrade the selected one of the plurality of modes and the second one of the plurality of communication channels having a second bandwidth larger than a first bandwidth of the first one of the plurality of communication channels if the one of the plurality of user entities indicates that the one of the plurality of user entities desires to upgrade the selected one of the plurality of modes.