METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR THE AUTOMATIC CONFIGURATION OF CONFERENCE RESOURCES

• US 20080239995A1
• Filed: 03/30/2007
• Published: 10/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jabbour, Fadi, Lee, David Cheng-Wei, Lee, Eric H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,045,489 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/260
• 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

Abstract

A method for the automatic configuration of conference resources includes receiving a user request identifying at least one conference resource to be used in a conference. The at least one conference resource is reserved for the conference. Operation of the conference resource is automatically initiated without user interaction.

Claims

1. A method for the automatic configuration of conference resources, comprising:

receiving a user request identifying at least one conference resource to be used in a conference;

reserving the at least one conference resource for the conference; and

without user interaction, automatically initiating operation of the at least one conference resource.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user request is received from a conference participant invited to participate in the conference.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user request is received from a conference scheduler setting up the conference.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one conference resource comprises at least one equipment resource for use at a physical location associated with the conference.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one equipment resource is selected from the group consisting of a projector, a video display, a telephone, a white board, a computer, an audio port, a video communication ports, and a television.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one conference resource comprises at least one telecommunications equipment resource.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one conference resource comprises at least one video equipment resource.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically initiating operation of the at least one conference resource comprises powering up the at least one conference resource.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein reserving the at least one conference resource for the conference comprises placing the at least one conference resource on a calendar, the method further comprising:

using the calendar to determine that the conference is scheduled to start within a predetermined amount of time; and

in response to determining that the conference is scheduled to start within a predetermined amount of time, automatically powering up the at least one conference resource.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically initiating operation of the at least one conference resource comprises:

automatically powering up the at least one conference resource; and

requesting authentication of a conference participant before the conference resource may be utilized.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the conference set up unit is operable to reserve the at least one conference resource for the conference by placing the at least one conference resource on a calendar; and

the conference resource management unit is further operable to;

use the calendar to determine that the conference is scheduled to start within a predetermined amount of time; and

in response to determining that the conference is scheduled to start within a predetermined amount of time, automatically power up the at least one conference resource.

11. A system for the automatic configuration of conference resources, comprising:

an interface operable to receive a user request identifying at least one conference resource to be used in a conference; and

a processor coupled to the interface, the processor comprising;

a conference setup unit operable to reserve the at least one conference resource for the conference; and

a conference resource management unit operable to automatically initiate operation of the at least one conference resource without user interaction.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the user request is received from a conference participant invited to participate in the conference.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the user request is received from a conference scheduler setting up the conference.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one conference resource comprises at least one equipment resource for use at a physical location associated with the conference.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least one equipment resource is selected from the group consisting of a projector, a video display, a telephone, a white board, a computer, an audio port, a video communication ports, and a television.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one conference resource comprises at least one telecommunications equipment resource.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one conference resource comprises at least one video equipment resource.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the conference resource management unit is operable to initiate operation of the at least one conference resource by powering up the at least one conference resource.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein when automatically initiating operation of the at least one conference resource, the conference resource management unit is further operable to:

automatically powering up the at least one conference resource; and

requesting authentication of a conference participant before the conference resource may be utilized.

21. A system for the automatic configuration of conference resources, comprising:

means for receiving a user request identifying at least one conference resource to be used in a conference;

means for reserving the at least one conference resource for the conference; and

means for automatically initiating operation of the conference resource without user interaction.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the user request is received from a conference participant invited to participate in the conference.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the at least one equipment resource is selected from the group consisting of a projector, a video display, a telephone, a white board, a computer, an audio port, a video communication ports, and a television.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the means for automatically initiating operation of the at least one conference resource comprises means for powering up the at least one conference resource.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the means for reserving the at least one conference resource for the conference comprises means for placing the at least one conference resource on a calendar, the system further comprising:

means for using the calendar to determine that the conference is scheduled to start within a predetermined amount of time; and

means for automatically powering up the at least one conference resource in response to determining that the conference is scheduled to start within a predetermined amount of time.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the means for automatically initiating operation of the at least one resource, comprises:

means for automatically powering up the at least one conference resource; and

means for requesting authentication of a conference participant before the conference resource may be utilized.

27. Logic embodied in a computer readable medium, the computer readable medium comprising code operable to:

receive a user request identifying at least one conference resource to be used in a conference;

reserve the at least one conference resource for the conference; and

without user interaction, automatically initiate operation of the conference resource.

28. The logic of claim 27, wherein the logic is operable to receive the user request from a conference participant invited to participate in the conference.

29. The logic of claim 27, wherein the logic is operable to receive the user request from a conference scheduler setting up the conference.

30. The logic of claim 27, wherein the at least one conference resource comprises at least one equipment resource for use at a physical location associated with the conference.

31. The logic of claim 30, wherein the at least one equipment resource is selected from the group consisting of a projector, a video display, a telephone, a white board, a computer, an audio port, a video communication ports, and a television.

32. The logic of claim 27, wherein the logic is operable to automatically initiate operation of the at least one conference resource by powering up the at least one conference resource.

33. The logic of claim 27, wherein the logic is operable to reserve the at least one conference resource for the conference by placing the at least one conference resource on a calendar, the logic further operable to:

use the calendar to determine that the conference is scheduled to start within a predetermined amount of time; and

in response to determining that the conference is scheduled to start within a predetermined amount of time, automatically power up the at least one conference resource.

34. The logic of claim 27, wherein when automatically initiating operation of the at least one conference resource, the logic is further operable to:

automatically power up the at least one conference resource; and

request authentication of a conference participant before the conference resource may be utilized.