Providing Audio Playback During a Conference Based on Conference System Source

• US 20120219139A1
• Filed: 05/10/2012
• Published: 08/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lifesize, Inc. (Enghouse Systems Limited)
• Original Assignee: Lifesize, Inc. (Enghouse Systems Limited)
• Inventors: Kenoyer, Michael L., Oxford, William V.
• Granted Patent: US 8,878,891 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/202.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/14 Systems for two-way working H04N7/12, H04N7/173 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/401 2D or 3D arrays of transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/20 Processing of the output signals of the acoustic transducers of an array for obtaining a desired directivity characteristic H04R2203/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 5/00 Pseudo-stereo systems, e.g. in which additional channel signals are derived from monophonic signals by means of phase shifting, time delay or reverberation

Abstract

In various embodiments, a system may include a first conferencing system with a first speaker and a second speaker. The first conferencing system may be coupled to a second conferencing system and a third conferencing system. In some embodiments, audio from the second conferencing system may be reproduced through the first speaker, and audio from the third conferencing system may be reproduced through the second speaker. In some embodiments, audio from various participants at various conferencing systems may be reproduced on audio system components relative to the location of participants at the conferencing system. For example, audio from a first participant on the left side of a camera at a second conferencing system may be reproduced through left side speakers at the first conferencing system.

Claims

1. A conferencing system, comprising:

at least one first speaker;

at least one second speaker; and

a network port, wherein the conferencing system is coupled to a second and a third conferencing system over a network via the network port, wherein the conferencing system, the second conferencing system, and the third conferencing system are configured to communicate in a conference;

wherein audio from the second conferencing system and the third conferencing system is reproduced through the at least one first speaker and the at least one second speaker based on a position of the source of the audio.

2. The conferencing system of claim 1, wherein the source of the audio is a participant at the second conferencing system, wherein the audio from the participant at the second conferencing system is reproduced through the at least one first speaker if the participant is on a right side of an audio recording component at the second conferencing system and is reproduced through the at least one second speaker if the participant is on a left side of the audio recording component of the second conferencing system.

3. The conferencing system of claim 1, wherein the at least one first speaker comprises a left speaker, wherein the at least one second speaker comprises a right speaker.

4. The conferencing system of claim 1, wherein the source of the audio is a participant at the second conferencing system, wherein the audio from the participant at the second conferencing system is reproduced through the at least one first speaker if the participant is on a front side of an audio recording component at the second conferencing system and is reproduced through the at least one second speaker if the participant is on a back side of the audio recording component of the second conferencing system.

5. A method for providing audio in a conference, comprising:

receiving audio at a first conferencing system from a second conferencing system;

receiving audio at the first conferencing system from a third conferencing system;

reproducing the received audio at the first conferencing system through at least one first speaker and at least one second speaker, wherein said reproducing the received audio comprises reproducing audio from the second conferencing system and the third conferencing system based on a position of the source of the audio.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the source of the audio received from the second conferencing system is a participant at the second conferencing system, wherein said reproducing the received audio comprises reproducing the received audio from the participant at the second conferencing system through the at least one first speaker if the participant is on a right side of an audio recording component at the second conferencing system and reproducing the received audio through the at least one second speaker if the participant is on a left side of the audio recording component of the second conferencing system.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one first speaker comprises a left speaker, wherein the at least one second speaker comprises a right speaker.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the source of the audio received from the second conferencing system is a participant at the second conferencing system, wherein said reproducing the received audio comprises reproducing the received audio from the participant at the second conferencing system through the at least one first speaker if the participant is on a front side of an audio recording component at the second conferencing system and reproducing the received audio through the second speaker if the participant is on a back side of the audio recording component of the second conferencing system.

9. A non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium storing program instructions for providing audio in a conference, wherein the program instructions are executable to:

receive audio at a first conferencing system from a second conferencing system;

receive audio at the first conferencing system from a third conferencing system;

reproduce the received audio at the first conferencing system through at least one first speaker and at least one second speaker, wherein said reproducing the received audio comprises reproducing audio from the second conferencing system and the third conferencing system based on a position of the source of the audio.

10. The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim 9, wherein the source of the audio received from the second conferencing system is a participant at the second conferencing system, wherein said reproducing the received audio comprises reproducing the received audio from the participant at the second conferencing system through the at least one first speaker if the participant is on a right side of an audio recording component at the second conferencing system and reproducing the received audio through the at least one second speaker if the participant is on a left side of the audio recording component of the second conferencing system.

11. The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim 10, wherein the at least one first speaker comprises a left speaker, wherein the at least one second speaker comprises a right speaker.

12. The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim 9, wherein the source of the audio received from the second conferencing system is a participant at the second conferencing system, wherein said reproducing the received audio comprises reproducing the received audio from the participant at the second conferencing system through the at least one first speaker if the participant is on a front side of an audio recording component at the second conferencing system and reproducing the received audio through the second speaker if the participant is on a back side of the audio recording component of the second conferencing system.