SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR MULTI-PARTICIPANT TELECONFERENCING USING PREFERRED FORMS OF TELECOMMUNICATION

• US 20130342635A1
• Filed: 06/21/2012
• Published: 12/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: iBasis Incorporated (Tofane Global SAS)
• Original Assignee: Vitaliy Yurchenko
• Inventors: Yurchenko, Vitaliy
• Granted Patent: US 9,083,771 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/14.08
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1046 Call controllers; Call servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• 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 3/567 Multimedia conference systems

Abstract

A multi-participant teleconferencing system includes a telecommunication manager that is configured to establish telecommunication connections with participants by instructing and initiating one or more telecommunication devices (e.g., media gateway devices, email servers, web servers, multipoint control units, etc.). Participants can be enabled to provide personal preferences to the telecommunication manager. The personal preferences and other participant information can be stored on one or more storage devices as participant records. The participant records preferably include preferred forms of telecommunication for the participants. Each preferred form of telecommunication can include an indication of a preferred type of telecommunication device and/or an indication of a preferred telecommunication technology. The telecommunication manager can utilize the preferred forms of telecommunication stored on the one or more storage devices to schedule, manage, and initiate multi-participant telecommunication.

Claims

1. A system for initiating a telecommunication connection between two or more participants, comprising:

a telecommunication manager configured in such a way as to manage selection of a form of telecommunication for each of the two or more participants when the telecommunication connection is desired between a plurality of telecommunication devices operable by the two or more participants; and

participant data stored on one or more storage devices, the one or more storage devices in communication with the telecommunication manager and the one or more storage devices containing a plurality of participant records, each participant record comprising at least one participant identifier each for identifying a participant, and at least one of the plurality of participant records having an indication of a preferred form of telecommunication for an associated participant when the telecommunication connection is desired;

wherein when the telecommunication connection is desired by a first of the two or more participants, the telecommunication manager manages connection of each of a remainder of the two or more participants.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a presence server in communication with the telecommunication manager, wherein the presence server manages information regarding availability, capability, and desirability of participants to communicate.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a third party call control server in communication with the telecommunication manager, wherein the third party call control server is configured to set up and manage the telecommunication connection between two or more participants.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a video conferencing server in communication with the telecommunication manager, wherein the video conferencing server is configured to interconnect a plurality of video conference telecommunication connections.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the telecommunication connection is configurable between multiple different telecommunication devices contemporaneously.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the multiple different telecommunication devices comprise one or more of telephones, mobile phones, internet phones, computers, smart phones, tablets, personal video units, or video phones.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the telecommunication manager is configured to cause the two or more participants to be provided with a hyperlink clickable to initiate the telecommunication connection.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the indication of the preferred form of telecommunication comprises telephone, VoIP, video conference, computer, text message, instant message, or shared scree or desktop.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the preferred form of telecommunication comprises a selection of one or more of device, telecommunication technology, event trigger, or time trigger.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein only one participant of the two or more participants has indicated the preferred form of telecommunication prior to initiation of the telecommunication connection, such that other of the two or more participants are contacted by the system when the telecommunication connection is desired without having previously indicated a preferred form of telecommunication.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the telecommunication connection occurs utilizing two or more of a telephone, a mobile device, a computer, a video device, an analog device, a digital device, a messaging device, an email device, a VoIP device, a chat device, an electronic presence device, a virtual presence device, or any combination thereof.

12. A method of initiating a telecommunication connection between two or more participants, comprising:

a telecommunication manager initiating a telecommunication by causing, using at least one processor, a request to be sent to each of the two or more participants based on information obtained from a plurality of participant records stored in one or more data storage devices, each participant record comprising at least one participant identifier for identifying a participant and at least one of the plurality of participant records having an indication of a preferred form of telecommunication; and

the telecommunication manager receiving, through at least one input device, responses to the request from each of the two or more participants, the responses being in the form of a telecommunication request to establish the telecommunication connection between the two or more participants;

wherein when the telecommunication connection couples together each of the two or more participants, a form of telecommunication is selected by the telecommunication manager according to the preferred form of telecommunication as indicated by at least one corresponding participant record of the plurality of participant records.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising a presence server managing information regarding availability, capability, and desirability of participants to communicate, the presence server being in communication with the telecommunication manager.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising a third party call control server setting up and managing the telecommunication connection between two or more participants, the third party call control server being in communication with the telecommunication manager.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising a video conferencing server interconnecting a plurality of video conference telecommunication connections, the video conferencing server being in communication with the telecommunication manager.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the telecommunication connection is configurable between multiple different telecommunication devices contemporaneously.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the multiple different telecommunication devices comprise one or more of telephones, mobile phones, internet phones, computers, smart phones, tablets, personal video units, or video phones.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the telecommunication manager causes the two or more participants to be provided with a hyperlink clickable to initiate the telecommunication connection.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the preferred form of telecommunication comprises a selection of one or more of device, telecommunication technology, event trigger, or time trigger.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein causing the request to be sent to each of the two or more participants comprises causing a telecommunication invitation to be sent to each of the two or more participants, wherein for at least one of the two or more participants the telecommunication invitation is specific to a preferred form of telecommunication indicated in one of the plurality of participant records.

21. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving from one of the two or more participants, through at least one input device, a teleconference request to initiate or schedule a teleconference between the two or more participants, wherein the step of initiating the telecommunication is based on the step of receiving the teleconference request.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the telecommunication manager causing, using at least one processor, a notification of the requested teleconference to be sent to each of the two or more participants prior to the step of initiating the telecommunication.

23. The method of claim 12, wherein causing the request to be sent to each of the two or more participants comprises accessing one or more remote storage devices in real time to obtain contact information enabling at least one of the two or more participants to be contacted using a preferred form of telecommunication as indicated in one of the plurality of participant records.