Distributed conference bridge
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for communication, comprising:
- specifying a group of packet telephony terminals that are to participate in a telephone conference;
defining, based on the list, a conference topology in which at least two of the terminals serve as bridge nodes, comprising at least first and second bridge nodes, which are associated respectively with mutually-disjoint first and second sets of the terminals, each of the first and second sets comprising one or more of the terminals;
setting up telephony connections over a packet network between the first and second bridge nodes, and between the first bridge node and each of the terminals in the first set, and between the second bridge node and each of the terminals in the second set; and
mixing, at each of the bridge nodes, audio signals conveyed over the telephony connections so as to join the first and second sets of the terminals together with the first and second bridge nodes in the telephone conference.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method for communication includes specifying a group of packet telephony terminals that are to participate in a telephone conference. Based on the list, a conference topology is defined in which at least two of the terminals serve as bridge nodes, which are associated respectively with mutually-disjoint sets of the terminals. Telephony connections are set up over a packet network between first and second bridge nodes, and between the first bridge node and each of the terminals in a first set of the terminals, and between the second bridge node and each of the terminals in a second set. Audio signals conveyed over the telephony connections are mixed at each of the bridge nodes so as to join the first and second sets of the terminals together with the first and second bridge nodes in the telephone conference.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for communication, comprising:
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specifying a group of packet telephony terminals that are to participate in a telephone conference;
defining, based on the list, a conference topology in which at least two of the terminals serve as bridge nodes, comprising at least first and second bridge nodes, which are associated respectively with mutually-disjoint first and second sets of the terminals, each of the first and second sets comprising one or more of the terminals;
setting up telephony connections over a packet network between the first and second bridge nodes, and between the first bridge node and each of the terminals in the first set, and between the second bridge node and each of the terminals in the second set; and
mixing, at each of the bridge nodes, audio signals conveyed over the telephony connections so as to join the first and second sets of the terminals together with the first and second bridge nodes in the telephone conference. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. Apparatus for operation as a packet telephony terminal, comprising:
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a network communication interface, for communicating with other packet telephony terminals over a packet network; and
a processor, which is arranged to receive an input specifying a group of the terminals that are to participate in a telephone conference, the group comprising the apparatus and a plurality of the other packet telephony terminals, wherein the processor is operative to define, based on the list, a conference topology in which at least two of the terminals serve as bridge nodes, comprising at least first and second bridge nodes, which are associated respectively with mutually-disjoint first and second sets of the terminals, each of the first and second sets comprising one or more of the terminals, wherein the processor is further arranged, in conjunction with the other terminals in the group, to cause telephony connections to be set up over the packet network between the first and second bridge nodes, and between the first bridge node and each of the terminals in the first set, and between the second bridge node and each of the terminals in the second set, and to mix audio signals conveyed over the telephony connections so as to join the first and second sets of the terminals together with the first and second bridge nodes in the telephone conference. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for communication, comprising a plurality of packet telephony terminals, which are interconnected via a packet network, wherein at least one of the terminals is arranged to receive an input specifying a group of the terminals that are to participate in a telephone conference, and to define, based on the list, a conference topology in which at least two of the terminals serve as bridge nodes, comprising at least first and second bridge nodes., which are associated respectively with mutually-disjoint first and second sets of the terminals, each of the first and second sets comprising one or more of the terminals,
wherein the terminals are arranged to set up telephony connections over the packet network between the first and second bridge nodes, and between the first bridge node and each of the terminals in the first set, and between the second bridge node and each of the terminals in the second set, and to mix at each of the bridge nodes audio signals conveyed over the telephony connections so as to join the first and second sets of the terminals together with the first and second bridge nodes in the telephone conference.
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24. A computer software product for use on a computer that is configured to operate as packet telephony terminal in communication with other packet telephony terminals over a packet network, the product comprising a computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by the computer, cause the computer to receive an input specifying a group of the terminals that are to participate in a telephone conference, the group comprising the packet telephony terminal and a plurality of the other packet telephony terminals, wherein the instructions cause the computer to define, based on the list, a conference topology in which at least two of the terminals serve as bridge nodes, comprising at least first and second bridge nodes, which are associated respectively with mutually-disjoint first and second sets of the terminals, each of the first and second sets comprising one or more of the terminals,
wherein the instructions further cause the computer to operate in conjunction with the other terminals in the group so as to cause telephony connections to be set up over the packet network between the first and second bridge nodes, and between the first bridge node and each of the terminals in the first set, and between the second bridge node and each of the terminals in the second set, and cause the computer to mix audio signals conveyed over the telephony connections so as to join the first and second sets of the terminals together with the first and second bridge nodes in the telephone conference.
Specification