Location-Aware Conferencing With Entertainment Options

• US 20110271208A1
• Filed: 04/30/2010
• Published: 11/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: American Teleconferencing Services Limited (Premiere Global Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: American Teleconferencing Services Limited (Premiere Global Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Jones, Boland T., Guthrie, David Michael, Frohwein, Robert J.
• Application Number:
  US12/771,942
• Publication Number:
  US 20110271208A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/753
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1845 broadcast or multicast in a specific location, e.g. geocast protocols for adapting network applications to user terminal location H04L67/52; services specially adapted for wireless communication networks making use of the location of users or terminals H04W4/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/42 Graphical user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/157 defining a virtual conference space and using avatars or agents computer conference optimisation or adaptation H04L12/1827

Abstract

A method for providing a virtual conference is described. The method includes a conferencing system that configures a virtual conference location; the conferencing system playing a personalized sound effect corresponding to generating a graphical representation of a conference participant; and the conferencing system displaying the graphical representation of the conference participant in the virtual conference location. The method further includes the conferencing system displaying a graphical user interface that lists one or more entertainment options and the conferencing system receiving one or more selections from the graphical user interface. The method further includes displaying visuals corresponding to one or more of the selections.

Claims

1. A method for providing a virtual conference, the method comprising:

a conferencing system configuring a virtual conference location;

the conferencing system playing a personalized sound effect corresponding to generating a graphical representation of a conference participant; and

the conferencing system displaying the graphical representation of the conference participant in the virtual conference location.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the conference system determining if all scheduled participants are present in the virtual conference; and

the conference system playing a sound effect to indicate all scheduled participants are present in the virtual conference.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the sound effect comprises at least one of a musical melody, a non-musical sound, and any combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a user interface for receiving a selection of the personalized sound effect.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the conferencing system playing a plurality of sound effects, each sound effect corresponding to a subsequently displayed graphical representation of a conference participant.

6. A method for providing a virtual conference, the method comprising:

the conferencing system receiving an entertainment option request;

the conferencing system displaying a graphical user interface that lists one or more entertainment options;

the conferencing system receiving one or more selections from the graphical user interface; and

displaying visuals corresponding to one or more of the selections.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more options in entertainment are made available while virtual conference participants wait until other users join the virtual conference.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising the conferencing system playing audio signals corresponding to the one or more selections.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the audio signals comprise music.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the audio signals correspond to a game.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more options in entertainment comprise at least one of a game, a musical jukebox, and a video jukebox.

12. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

the conferencing system determining if all scheduled participants are present in the virtual conference; and

when the conferencing system determines if all scheduled participants are present, then pausing the one or more entertainment options.

13. The method of claim 6, further comprising the conferencing system pausing the one or more entertainment options in response to receiving a pause request.

14. A conferencing system for providing a virtual conference, the system comprising:

a display device;

a processor, wherein the processor is operable to;

display visual objects on the display device corresponding to an interactive entertainment feature during the virtual conference; and

receive signals associated with one or more second conference participant identifiers of the virtual conference and corresponding to the visual objects of the interactive entertainment feature.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further operable to configure a virtual conference location;

and display the virtual conference location on a display device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the processor is further operable to display the visual objects corresponding to the interactive entertainment feature in the virtual location on the display device.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the interactive entertainment feature comprises a game.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the game comprises one of a card game, a board game, a musical oriented game, and a sport oriented game.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further operable to establish an audio conference among one or more conference participant identifiers.

20. The conferencing system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further operable to display personalized objects on the display device associated with the one or more conference participant identifiers.