Method and Apparatus for Conferencing of Text Messages

• US 20110281569A1
• Filed: 05/16/2011
• Published: 11/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Phone.com Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Phone.com Incorporated
• Inventors: Cohen, Alon, Scott, Brian Lee
• Granted Patent: US 8,571,588 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/416
• 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 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

A system and method are provided which provide a text messaging conference among at least three users who communicate on different first communication channels. A message initiated by a first user is received on one of the first communication channels. The message seeks to initiate a text message conference and includes identities of a plurality of additional users to participate in the messaging conference. Conference participants are identified by a two part identifier, which allows a single participant to participate in multiple ongoing simultaneous conferences.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a bridge, an out of band and substantially instantaneous message initiated by a first user, said message including one or more user identities, said bridge including one or more incoming physical or logical communications channels;

assigning a common or unique logical identifier, corresponding to a combination of one of said communication channels, and a user identity, to each user associated with said user identities, and to said first user channel and identity,

forming a group from said logical identifiers, and

transmitting subsequent substantially instantaneous out of band messages received from any user associated with said group to all or a subset of other such users, said transmission being out of band and substantially instantaneous.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the physical or logical communication channel to which users in a group send said substantially instantaneous out of band messages is different for different users.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said one or more substantially instantaneous out of band messages are SMS messages.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said logical identity for at least one of said users is comprised of a combination of a DID phone number from a pool of DID numbers associated with the bridge, and an actual phone number associated with a SMS ready device or application of said user.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said bridge, upon receipt of said substantially instantaneous out of band message, examines said message to determine if said message is a bridge command, and if so, processes said message in a first manner, and if not, processes said message in a second manner.

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of monitoring frequency at which messages are received or sent on a specific channel associated with a user, and terminating said user from said group if said frequency exceeds a predetermined threshold.

23. The method of claim 2 wherein one or more of said out of band messages are not initiated by a user, and are sent to all group members.

7. A method comprising:

receiving an SMS message and classifying said SMS message into one of three types, said three types being an initiation message, a content message, or a command message,

if said message is an initiation message, parsing said message to ascertain requested participants,

if said message is a content message, forwarding it to plural participants, and

if said message is a command message, altering parameters of an existing conference.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein, in response to said parsing, a set of participants is identified, and wherein each of said participants is then assigned a logical identifier comprising a DID phone number combined with a number associated with a SMS ready device.

24. The method of claim 7 wherein, in response to said parsing, a set of participants is identified, and wherein each of said participants is then assigned a logical identifier comprising a DID phone number combined with a number associated with a SMS ready application.

25. The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of, if said message is a command message, verifying that said command message is from a conference participant authorized to issue such command message, and if not, not executing a command specified in said command message.

9. A communications system comprising a message conferencing unit, said message conferencing unit comprising a processor for receiving an initiation text message, for parsing said initiation text message to extract participant identifying information, for constructing a logical group of users from said extracted participant identifying information, for transmitting an invite text message to each user of said logical group, for subsequently receiving content text messages from users in said logical group from different phone numbers and transmitting said content text messages to other users of said logical group.

10. The message conferencing unit of claim 9 said message conferencing unit further comprises stored information for each user, including at least two different phone numbers combined to as an identifier associated with a particular conference.

11. The message conferencing unit of claim 10 wherein said two different phone numbers comprise a first such number selected from a pool of DID numbers associated with said unit, and a second number associated with an actual communications device.

12. The message conferencing unit of claim 9 further comprising storage means retaining the stream of received messages during a conference, and sending them later to a participant.

13. A method for providing a text messaging conference among at least three users who communicate on different first communication channels, comprising the steps of:

receiving a message initiated by a first user on one of the first communication channels seeking to initiate a text message conference, the message including identities of a plurality of additional users to participate in the messaging conference;

dedicating a conferencing communication channel to the conference which is not one of the first communication channels; and

enabling the first user and additional users to communicate messages over the conferencing communication channel, a message received over the conferencing communication channel from one of the users being forwarded to the other users participating in the messaging conference via their respective first communication channels, wherein the conferencing communications channel is a logical channel comprised of an association between conference identifiers associated with each of said users, and wherein each of said conference identifiers comprises a first part indicative of a first phone number of a device of said user, and a second phone number associated with a conference bridge.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the received message is parsed to extract the identities of the additional users, who are then contacted and invited to communicate over the conferencing communication channel.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the text messages are communicated out of band.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the text messages are SMS messages.

17. A system for providing text message conferencing among at least three users who communicate on different first communication channels, the combination of:

a message receiver receiving a message initiated by a first user on one of the first communication channels seeking to initiate a text message conference, the message including identities of a plurality of additional users to participate in the messaging conference;

means reserving a conferencing communication channel to the conference which is not one of the first communication channels;

means enabling the first user and additional users to communicate messages over the conferencing communication channel; and

means forwarding a message received over the conferencing communication channel from one of the users to the other users participating in the messaging conference via their respective first communication channels.

18. The combination of claim 17 wherein the message receiver is constructed to is parse a received message to extract the identities of the users, who are then enabled by the enabling means to communicate over the conferencing communication channel.

19. The combination of claim 17 wherein the text messages are communicated out of band.

20. The combination of claim 19 wherein the text messages are SMS messages.

21. A teleconferencing system in which plural telephone devices are instructed in advance of phone numbers to which to send messages to participate in a subsequent conference, and wherein said phone numbers are different for different participants in the same conference, and wherein at least one of said telephone devices is sent plural numbers to participate in plural conferences that are ongoing simultaneously.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein at least one of said conference participants receives messages from other participant via email.

26. A method comprising receiving, at an MCU, a request from a first device having a first number, assigning, at the MCU, a second number from a pool of available MCU numbers to correspond to said first device, and effectuating subsequent communications between said first device and a second device by substituting said second number as caller ID information into calls from said first device before sending said calls to said second device, and, for calls from said second device to said second number, forwarding said calls to said first number without substituting said second caller ID information.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein said request is via an SMS message.

26-1. A method comprising receiving, at an MCU, a request from a first device having a first number, assigning, at the MCU, a second number from a pool of available MCU numbers to correspond to said first device, and effectuating subsequent communications between said first device and a second device by substituting said second number as caller ID information into calls from said first device before sending said calls to said second device, and, for calls from said second device to said second number, forwarding said calls to said first number and substituting said second caller ID information.