Techniques for providing caller ID of participants in a conference call invitation

• US 20070288562A1
• Filed: 06/07/2006
• Published: 12/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jain, Mukul, Kumar, Sanjeev, Patel, Labhesh, Shaffer, Shmuel
• Granted Patent: US 7,743,101 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5009 Adding a party to an existing conference conducting a computer conference, e.g. admission detection H04L12/1822
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5018 Initiating a conference during a two-party conversation, i.e. three-party-service or three-way-call computer conference organisation arrangements H04L12/1818
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5081 Inform conference party of participants, e.g. of change of participants conducting a computer conference, e.g. admission detection, H04L12/1822
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/563 User guidance or feature selection

Abstract

In one embodiment, techniques for sending a conference invite that provides access to a list of participants in an existing conference are provided. A participant in a conference may decide to send an invite for the existing conference to the user. A request for inviting the user into the existing conference is received. A list of participants in the existing conference is determined. An invite message for the conference is then generated where the invite message includes information for the list of participants. The invite message is then sent to the user where the information for the list of participants is accessible to the user. For example, the list of participants may be displayed as caller ID information when the invite message is received by the user.

Claims

1. A method for sending a conference invite, the method comprising:

receiving a request to invite a user into an existing conference;

determining a list of participants for the conference;

generating an invite message for the conference, the invite message including information for the list of participants; and

sending the invite message to the user, wherein the information for the list of participants is accessible to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information for the list of participants is included as caller ID information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the information for the list of participants is configured such that it is renderable as caller ID information when the invite message is received at a user device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the invite message is sent using a PBX system, the PBX system including the information for the list of participants in the invite message using a caller ID feature.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the invite message is sent using an instant message modality, video modality, phone modality, or email modality.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information for the list of participants is included in envelope information for the invite message, wherein the information for the list of participants is accessible upon a request from the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information for the list of participants is configured to be rendered as a video clip, audio clip, text, and/or a picture.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the information-for the list of participants comprises identification information for the list of the participants.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the invite message is configured to be transferred using a warm, blind or separate transfer, wherein the information for the list of participants is sent with the transferred invite message.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of participants is a subset of participants actually participating in the conference.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a modality in a plurality of modalities associated with the user; and

sending the invite message in the determined modality.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the modality comprises determining a modality where the user is listed as having an active presence.

13. A method for processing invite messages for a conference, the method comprising:

receiving an invite message inviting a user into an existing conference, the invite message including information for a list of participants for the conference;

determining, from the invite message, the information for the list of participants; and

rendering the information for the list of participants.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein rendering the information comprises displaying the information as caller ID information.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the information for the list of participants is included as envelope information, the method further comprising:

receiving a request for the list of participants, wherein rendering the information comprises rendering the information for the list of participants upon receiving the request.

16. An apparatus configured to send a conference invite, the apparatus comprising:

a conference request receiver configured to receive a request to invite a user into an existing conference;

a list determiner configured to determine a list of participants for the conference;

a message builder configured to generate an invite message for the conference, the invite message including information for the list of participants; and

a communicator configured to send the invite message to the user, wherein the information for the list of participants is accessible to the user.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the information for the list of participants is included as caller ID information.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the information for the list of participants is configured such that it is renderable as caller ID information when the invite message is received at a user device.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the apparatus comprises a PBX system, the PBX system configured to include the information for the list of participants in the invite message using a caller ID feature.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the communicator is configured to send the invite message using an instant message modality, video modality, phone modality, or email modality.

21. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the information for the list of participants is included in envelope information for the invite message, wherein the information for the list of participants is accessible upon a request from the user.

22. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the information for the list of participants is configured to be rendered as a video clip, audio clip, text, and/or a picture.

23. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the information for the list of participants comprises identification information for the list of the participants.

24. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the invite message is configured to be transferred using a warm, blind or separate transfer, wherein the information for the list of participants is sent with the transferred invite message.

25. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the list of participants is a subset of participants actually participating in the conference.

26. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a modality determiner configured to determine a modality in a plurality of modalities associated with the user, wherein the communicator is configured to send the invite message in the determined modality.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the modality determiner is configured to determine a modality where the user is listed as having an active presence.

28. An apparatus configured to send a conference invite, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a request to invite a user into an existing conference;

means for determining a list of participants for the conference;

means for generating an invite message for the conference, the invite message including information for the list of participants; and

means for sending the invite message to the user, wherein the information for the list of participants is accessible to the user.