TELECOMMUNICATION AND MULTIMEDIA MANAGEMENT METHOD AND APPARATUS

• US 20090003537A1
• Filed: 05/27/2008
• Published: 01/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Voxer IP LLC (Voxer, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rebelvox LLC (Voxer, Inc.)
• Inventors: Katis, Thomas E., Panttaja, Mary G., Ranney, Matthew J., Panttaja, James T.
• Granted Patent: US 8,107,604 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/68
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 3/126 Foldable, retractable or tiltable tribunes E04H3/123 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2503 Translation of Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/64 Automatic arrangements for answering calls; Automatic arrangements for recording messages for absent subscribers; Arrangements for recording conversations centralised dictation systems H04M11/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/00 Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53 Centralised arrangements for recording incoming messages , i.e. mailbox systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5307 for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 : Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 : Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

A communication device for consecutively rendering one or more conversations. The device includes a receiver configured to receive at the communication device media associated with the one or more conversations over a network. The one or more conversations include a defined set of conversations to be consecutively rendered in accordance with a defined priority hierarchy. The device also includes a sequencing element, which sequences the received media associated with the defined set of conversations into a sequence order at least partially based on the defined priority hierarchy. A rendering element consecutively renders the received media associated with the defined set of conversations in the sequence order.

Claims

1. A device for consecutively rendering one or more conversations, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive at the communication device media associated with one or more conversations over a network, the one or more conversations including a defined set of conversations to be consecutively rendered in accordance with a defined priority hierarchy;

a sequencing element configured to sequence the received media associated with the defined set of conversations into a sequence order at least partially based on the defined priority hierarchy; and

a rendering element configured to consecutively render the received media associated with the defined set of conversations in the sequence order.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the define set of conversations to be rendered consecutively is defined by a user of the communication device.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the define set of conversations to be rendered consecutively is defined by a preset configuration.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the define set of conversations to be rendered consecutively is defined by a participant of one of the conversations of the set.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the priority hierarchy is defined by a user of the communication device.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the priority hierarchy is a predefined priority hierarchy.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the priority hierarchy is defined by a participant of one of the conversations of the set.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the sequencing element is further configured to sequence the media associated with the defined set of conversations into the sequencing order by:

i) ascertaining, among the set of conversations to be consecutively rendered, the conversations with available media;

ii) selecting one conversation among the ascertained conversations with available media at least partially based on the defined priority hierarchy;

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the rendering element is further configured to consecutively render the media associated with the defined set of conversations in the sequence order defined by the sequencing element by:

iii) rendering the available media of the selected one conversation;

iv) pausing the rendering of the available media of the other ascertained conversations; and

v) continually performing (i) through (iv).

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the sequencing element relies on a sequencing algorithm to select the one conversation among the ascertained conversations with available media, the sequencing algorithm using one or more of the following parameters:

i) the priority hierarchy;

ii) switching costs associated with interrupting the currently rendered media with a higher priority media;

iii) the duration of the currently rendered media;

iv) the quality of the available media;

v) input from a controller of the communication device;

vi) the time the media was received;

vii) the time the media was created and encoded;

viii) the time the media becomes available for rendering;

ix) a random or predetermined shuffling order;

x) a predefined priority associated with the incoming media;

or

xi) priority information included with the incoming media.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the sequencing element is further configured to continually update the sequence order as the media belonging to the defined set of conversations is received at the communication device.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the rendering element is further configured to consecutively render the available media for the conversation in the defined set first in the sequence order in a near real-time mode.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein the rendering element is further configured to render the available media for the conversations in the set not first in the sequence order in a time-shifted mode.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein the sequencing element is further configured to consecutively render the media associated with the defined set of conversations in the sequence order by:

i) rendering the media first in the sequence order;

ii) updating the sequence order; and

iii) continually performing steps (i) and (ii).

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the sequencing element is further configured to consecutively render the media associated with the defined set of conversations in the sequence order by:

iv) continually time-shifting the rendering of media lower in the sequence order; and

v) continually performing (i) and (iv).

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the rendering element is further configured to render the media first in the sequence order either:

iv) progressively as the media is being received over the network;

or

v) progressively from storage or memory if the media first in the sequence order was previously received but not rendered.

17. The device of claim 1, further comprising an encoder configured to encode media created on the communication device and associated with a highest priority conversation as defined by the priority hierarchy.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the encoded media and the received media constitute the highest priority conversation.

19. The device of claim 17, further comprising a storage or memory element configured to store the received and the encoded media associated with the conversations in the set.

20. The device of claim 17, further comprising a transmitter configured to transmit the encoded media from the communication device to one or more remote communication devices over the network participating in the highest priority conversation.

21. The device claim 1, wherein the media associated with the one or more conversations is segmented into messages.

22. The device claim 1, further comprising providing a plurality of rendering options for rendering the media of the one or more conversations, the rendering options including one or more of the following:

pause, replay, play faster, play slower, jump backward, jump forward, skip silence, catch up to the most recently received media, or jump to the most recently received media.

23. The device claim 17, further comprising progressively storing the encoded media as the media is being created before transmitting the encoded media.

24. The device claim 17, further comprising progressively transmitting the encoded media as the media is being created before storing the encoded media.

25. The device claim 17, further comprising concurrently and progressively rendering and storing the encoded media as the media is being created and encoded.

26. The device claim 17, wherein transmitting over the network the encoded media created on the communication device further comprises:

ascertaining if the communication device is connected to the network when the media is encoded; and

progressively transmitting the media if the communication device is connected to the network,

wherein connected to the network is defined as the ability to transfer data between the communication device and the network.

27. The device claim 26, further comprising;

ascertaining the bandwidth rate of the connection between the network and the communication device when the media is being created; and

progressively transmitting the created media within the ascertained bandwidth rate.

28. The device claim 17, wherein transmitting over the network the encoded media created on the communication device further comprises:

ascertaining if the communication device is disconnected from the network when the media is encoded;

detecting when the first communication device reconnects to the network; and

transmitting the created media from storage or memory after the communication device reconnects to the network,

wherein connected and disconnected to the network is defined as the ability to transfer or not transfer data between the communication device and the network respectively.

29. The device claim 17, wherein transmitting over the network the encoded media created on the communication device further comprises:

ascertaining if network conditions are sufficiently poor to prevent the transmission when the media is created;

detecting when network conditions sufficiently improve to enable the transmission; and

transmitting the created media from storage or memory after detecting when the network conditions sufficiently improve.

30. The device claim 1, wherein the media further comprises one or more of the following types of media:

voice, video, text, sensor data, position or GPS information, radio signals, or a combination thereof.

31. The device claim 1, wherein the communication device comprises one of the following:

a, land-line phone, a wireless or cellular phone, a computer or a radio, a satellite phone or radio, or a tactical radio or phone.

32. The device claim 1, wherein the network comprises a packet-based network, a circuit-based network, a cellular network, a wireless network, a radio based network, a telephone network, a satellite network, a wired network, a fiber optic network, or a combination thereof.

33. The device claim 1, further comprising:

receiving urgent media at the communication device; and

rendering the urgent media before rendering other media associated with the one or more conversations.