Audio bridge for network conferencing
First Claim
1. An audio management apparatus for managing simultaneous streams of packet-switched audio data for a network conference tool that provides communication between a plurality of different connection points, audio data being received from and transmitted to the connection points by the audio management apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of member objects, each being associated with a different one of the connection points and each maintaining a mixing protocol for audio data to be delivered to the connection point with which it is associated, each member object modifying the packets that it receives to provide a mix of audio data corresponding to its mixing protocol and outputting the modified packets;
a receiver that receives each packet of audio data directed to the audio management apparatus, identifies the connection point that is the source of the packet, and forwards it to the member object that is associated with that connection point; and
a sender that processes each packet of audio data from each member object and transmits each packet to the connection point with which the packet is associated.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An audio management apparatus manages simultaneous streams of packet-switched audio data for a network conference tool. The apparatus uses a receiver thread to receive packets input from different audio connection points, and a sender thread to send modified packets to the audio connection points. The apparatus uses a plurality of member objects, each associated with a different connection point, to modify the packets to create a custom mix of audio data for each connection point. A common mix, consisting of all of the packets input from all of the connection points, is also maintained, and is used by each of the member objects, along with the packets maintained by the member objects, to perform the desired mixing. The overall number of receiver threads and sender threads is independent of the number of member objects, thereby allowing the system to be highly scalable.
49 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An audio management apparatus for managing simultaneous streams of packet-switched audio data for a network conference tool that provides communication between a plurality of different connection points, audio data being received from and transmitted to the connection points by the audio management apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of member objects, each being associated with a different one of the connection points and each maintaining a mixing protocol for audio data to be delivered to the connection point with which it is associated, each member object modifying the packets that it receives to provide a mix of audio data corresponding to its mixing protocol and outputting the modified packets;
a receiver that receives each packet of audio data directed to the audio management apparatus, identifies the connection point that is the source of the packet, and forwards it to the member object that is associated with that connection point; and
a sender that processes each packet of audio data from each member object and transmits each packet to the connection point with which the packet is associated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for managing simultaneous streams of packet-switched audio data for a network conference tool that provides communication of audio data between a plurality of different connection points, the method comprising:
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maintaining, with a plurality of member objects, a mixing protocol for audio data to be delivered to the connection points, each member object being associated with a different one of the connection points and each member object modifying the packets that it receives to provide a mix of audio data corresponding to its mixing protocol and outputting the modified packets;
receiving each packet of audio data directed to the audio management apparatus with a receiver that identifies the connection point that is the source of the packet, and forwards the packet to the member object that is associated with that connection point; and
processing each packet of audio data from each member object with a sender that transmits each packet to the connection point with which the packet is associated. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An audio management apparatus for managing simultaneous streams of packet-switched audio data for a network conference tool that provides communication between a plurality of different connection points, audio data being received from and transmitted to the connection points by the audio management apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
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means for maintaining, with a plurality of member objects, a mixing protocol for audio data to be delivered to the connection points, each member object being associated with a different one of the connection points and each member object modifying the packets that it receives to provide a mix of audio data corresponding to its mixing protocol and outputting the modified packets;
means for receiving each packet of audio data directed to the audio management apparatus with a receiver that identifies the connection point that is the source of the packet, and forwards the packet to the member object that is associated with that connection point; and
means for processing each packet of audio data from each member object with a sender that transmits each packet to the connection point with which the packet is associated. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification