Method for connection of secure conference calls
First Claim
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1. A method of bridging teleconference calls at each telephone set used within a teleconference network, comprising the steps of:
- receiving a first incoming signal from a first adjacent teleconference user via a first logical channel;
decoding said first incoming signal to provide a first incoming speech signal;
forwarding said first incoming speech signal to a first input of a signal processing circuit means;
receiving a second incoming signal from a second adjacent teleconference user via a second logical channel;
decoding said second incoming signal to provide a second incoming speech signal;
forwarding said second incoming speech signal to a second input of said signal processing circuit means;
detecting the presence of and decoding a user'"'"'s output speech signal from an output of user interface means;
forwarding said output speech signal if present to a third input of said signal processing circuit means;
summing said speech signals of said first and second inputs at said signal processing means and forwarding the summed signal to an input of code translation circuit means for conversion and forwarding to an input of said user interface means;
summing said speech signals of said second and third inputs at said signal processing means to provide a first outgoing speech signal;
coding said first outgoing speech signal to provide a first outgoing signal;
transmitting said first outgoing signal to said first adjacent user via said first logical channel;
summing said speech signals of said first and third inputs at said signal processing circuit means to provide a second outgoing speech signal;
coding said second outgoing speech signal to provide a second outgoing signal; and
transmitting said second outgoing signal to said second adjacent user via said second logical channel.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method and apparatus of making secure conference calls in which the bridging unit does not need to know any encryption keys and can function independently of the encryption process used by the communicating parties. This means that there is no security requirement for the conference unit, there are fewer restrictions on where it can be placed, and it does not introduce any additional weaknesses in the security system.
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Citations
51 Claims
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1. A method of bridging teleconference calls at each telephone set used within a teleconference network, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a first incoming signal from a first adjacent teleconference user via a first logical channel; decoding said first incoming signal to provide a first incoming speech signal; forwarding said first incoming speech signal to a first input of a signal processing circuit means; receiving a second incoming signal from a second adjacent teleconference user via a second logical channel; decoding said second incoming signal to provide a second incoming speech signal; forwarding said second incoming speech signal to a second input of said signal processing circuit means; detecting the presence of and decoding a user'"'"'s output speech signal from an output of user interface means; forwarding said output speech signal if present to a third input of said signal processing circuit means; summing said speech signals of said first and second inputs at said signal processing means and forwarding the summed signal to an input of code translation circuit means for conversion and forwarding to an input of said user interface means; summing said speech signals of said second and third inputs at said signal processing means to provide a first outgoing speech signal; coding said first outgoing speech signal to provide a first outgoing signal; transmitting said first outgoing signal to said first adjacent user via said first logical channel; summing said speech signals of said first and third inputs at said signal processing circuit means to provide a second outgoing speech signal; coding said second outgoing speech signal to provide a second outgoing signal; and transmitting said second outgoing signal to said second adjacent user via said second logical channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of providing a teleconference call between a number of users, comprising the steps of:
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instructing a communications network having switching nodes and transmission links to establish a chain-like connection pattern between said users, by connecting the telephone set of a user to the telephone set of a first adjacent user via a first logical channel and to the telephone set of a second adjacent user via a second logical channel; receiving a first incoming signal from a first adjacent teleconference user via a first logical channel; decoding said first incoming signal to provide a first incoming speech signal; forwarding said first incoming speech signal to a first input of a signal processing circuit means; receiving a second incoming signal from a second adjacent teleconference user via a second logical channel; decoding said second incoming signal to provide a second incoming speech signal; forwarding said second incoming speech signal to a second input of said signal processing circuit means; detecting the presence of and decoding a user'"'"'s output speech signal from an output of user interface means; forwarding said output speech signal if present to a third input of said signal processing circuit means; summing said speech signals of said first and second inputs at said signal processing means and forwarding the summed signal to an input of code translation circuit means for conversion and forwarding to an input of said user interface means; summing said speech signals of said second and third inputs at said signal processing means to provide a first outgoing speech signal; coding said first outgoing speech signal to provide a first outgoing signal; transmitting said first outgoing signal to said first adjacent user via said first logical channel; summing said speech signals of said first and third inputs at said signal processing circuit means to provide a second outgoing speech signal; coding said second outgoing speech signal to provide a second outgoing signal; and transmitting said second outgoing signal to said second adjacent user via said second logical channel. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. A method of bridging teleconference calls at each telephone set used within a secure teleconference network, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a first incoming secure signal from a first adjacent teleconference user via a first logical channel; decrypting said first incoming secure signal; decoding said decrypted first incoming signal to provide a first incoming speech signal; forwarding said first incoming speech signal to a first input of a signal processing circuit means; receiving a second incoming signal from a second adjacent teleconference user via a second logical channel; decoding said second incoming signal to provide a second incoming speech signal; forwarding said second incoming speech signal to a second input of said signal processing circuit means; detecting the presence of and decoding a user'"'"'s output speech signal from an output of user interface means; forwarding said output speech signal if present to a third input of said signal processing circuit means; summing said speech signals of said first and second inputs at said signal processing means and forwarding the summed signal to an input of code translation circuit means for conversion and forwarding to an input of said user interface means; summing said speech signals of said second and third inputs at said signal processing means to provide a first outgoing speech signal; coding said first outgoing speech signal to provide a first outgoing signal; encrypting said first outgoing signal to provide a first outgoing secure signal; transmitting said first outgoing secure signal to said first adjacent user via said first logical channel; summing said speech signals of said first and third inputs at said signal processing circuit means to provide a second outgoing speech signal; coding said second outgoing speech signal to provide a second outgoing signal; encrypting said second outgoing signal to provide a second outgoing secure signal; and transmitting said second outgoing secure signal to said second adjacent user via said second logical channel. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A method of providing a secure teleconference call between a number of users, comprising the steps of:
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instructing a communications network having switching nodes and transmission links to establish a chain-like connection pattern between said users, thereby allowing each user to communicate with an adjacent user; receiving a first incoming secure signal from a first adjacent teleconference user via a first logical channel; decrypting said first incoming secure signal; decoding said decrypted first incoming signal to provide a first incoming speech signal; forwarding said first incoming speech signal to a first input of a signal processing circuit means; receiving a second incoming signal from a second adjacent teleconference user via a second logical channel; decoding said second incoming signal to provide a second incoming speech signal; forwarding said second incoming speech signal to a second input of said signal processing circuit means; detecting the presence of and decoding a user'"'"'s output speech signal from an output of user interface means; forwarding said output speech signal if present to a third input of said signal processing circuit means; summing said speech signals of said first and second inputs at said signal processing means and forwarding the summed signal to an input of code translation circuit means for conversion and forwarding to an input of said user interface means; summing said speech signals of said second and third inputs at said signal processing means to provide a first outgoing speech signal; coding said first outgoing speech signal to provide a first outgoing signal; encrypting said first outgoing signal to provide a first outgoing secure signal; transmitting said first outgoing secure signal to said first adjacent user via said first logical channel; summing said speech signals of said first and third inputs at said signal processing circuit means to provide a second outgoing speech signal; coding said second outgoing speech signal to provide a second outgoing signal; encrypting said second outgoing signal to provide a second outgoing secure signal; and transmitting said second outgoing secure signal to said second adjacent user via said second logical channel. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A method of bridging teleconference calls at each telephone set used within a teleconference network, comprising the steps of:
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receiving an incoming call having multiplexed first and second signals from a communications network having switching nodes and transmission links; demultiplexing said incoming call to provide said first and second signals; decoding said first and second calls to provide first and second incoming speech signals; summing said first and second incoming speech signals and forwarding the sum to a user interface; detecting the presence of an output speech signal from said user interface; summing said first incoming speech signal with said output speech signal to provide a first outgoing speech signal; summing said second incoming speech signal with said output speech signal to provide a second outgoing speech signal; coding said first and second outgoing speech signals to provide first and second outgoing signals; multiplexing said first and second outgoing signals; and transmitting said multiplexed outgoing signals via a channel to said communications network for connection to other teleconference users. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A telephone set useable for bridging conference calls when used within a teleconference network, comprising:
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means for decoding a first incoming signal to provide a first incoming speech signal; means for decoding a second incoming signal to provide a second incoming speech signal; user interface means having an input and an output; means for detecting the presence of and decoding a user'"'"'s output speech signal from the output of said user interface means; signal processing circuit means having a first and a second input for receiving said first and second incoming speech signal and a third input for receiving said output speech signal; first means at said signal processing means for summing said first and second speech signals to provide a first summed signal; code translation circuit means for conversion of said first summed signal and for forwarding to the input of said user interface means; second means at said signal processing means for summing said speech signals of said second and third inputs to provide a first outgoing speech signal; first means for coding said first outgoing speech signal to provide a first outgoing signal for transmission to a first adjacent user; third means at said signal processing means for summing said speech signals of said first and third inputs to provide a second outgoing speech signal; and second means for coding said second outgoing speech signal to provide a second outgoing signal for transmission to a second adjacent user. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A teleconference network for interconnecting a number of telephone sets, comprising:
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communications network means having switching nodes and transmission links for establishing a chain-like connection pattern between said telephone sets, such that each teleconference user communicates with a user of an adjacent set; each telephone set being comprised of; means for decoding a first incoming signal to provide a first incoming speech signal; means for decoding a second incoming signal to provide a second incoming speech signal; user interface means having an input and an output; means for detecting the presence of and decoding a user'"'"'s output speech signal from the output of said user interface means; signal processing circuit means having a first and a second input for receiving said first and second incoming speech signals and a third input for receiving said output speech signal; first means at said signal processing means for summing said first and second speech signals to provide a first summed signal; code translation circuit means for conversion of said first summed signal and for forwarding to the input of said user interface means; second means at said signal processing means for summing said speech signals of said second and third inputs to provide a first outgoing speech signal; first means for coding said first outgoing speech signal to provide a first outgoing signal for transmission to a first adjacent user; third means at said signal processing means for summing said speech signals of said first and third inputs to provide a second outgoing speech signal; and second means for coding said second outgoing speech signal to provide a second outgoing signal for transmission to a second adjacent user; and conference control means for requesting, setting-up and supervising interconnections of said telephone sets through said communications network means. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A telephone set useable for bridging secure teleconference calls when used in a teleconference network, comprising:
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means for decrypting a first incoming secure call from a first teleconference user to provide a first incoming signal; means for decoding said first incoming signal to provide a first incoming speech signal; means for decrypting a second incoming secure call from a second teleconference user to provide a second incoming signal; means for decoding said second incoming signal to provide a second incoming speech signal; user interface means having an input and an output; means for detecting the presence of and decoding a user'"'"'s output speech signal from the output of said user interface means; signal processing circuit means having a first and a second input for receiving said first and second incoming speech signal and a third input for receiving said output speech signal; first means at said signal processing means for summing said first and second speech signals to provide a first summed signal; code translation circuit means for conversion of said first summed signal and for forwarding to the input of said user interface means; second means at said signal processing means for summing said speech signals of said second and third inputs to provide a first outgoing speech signal; first means for coding said first outgoing speech signal to provide a first outgoing signal; means for encrypting said first outgoing signal to provide an outgoing secure call for transmission to another teleconference user; third means at said signal processing means for summing said speech signals of said first and third inputs to provide a second outgoing speech signal; second means for coding said second outgoing speech signal to provide a second outgoing signal for transmission to a second adjacent user; and means for encrypting said second outgoing signal to provide an outgoing secure call for transmission to another teleconference user. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A secure teleconference network for interconnecting a number of secure telephone sets, comprising:
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communications network means having switching nodes and transmission links for establishing a chain-like connection pattern between said secure telephone sets, such that each teleconference user communicates with a user of an adjacent set; each secure telephone set being comprised of; means for decrypting a first incoming secure call from a first teleconference user to provide a first incoming signal; means for decoding said first incoming signal to provide a first incoming speech signal; means for decrypting a second incoming secure call from a second teleconference user to provide a second incoming signal; means for decoding said second incoming signal to provide a second incoming speech signal; user interface means having an input and an output; means for detecting the presence of and decoding a user'"'"'s output speech signal from the output of said user interface means; signal processing circuit means having a first and a second input for receiving said first and second incoming speech signal and a third input for receiving said output speech signal; first means at said signal processing means for summing said first and second speech signals to provide a first summed signal; code translation circuit means for conversion of said first summed signal and for forwarding to the input of said user interface means; second means at said signal processing means for summing said speech signals of said second and third inputs to provide a first outgoing speech signal; first means for coding said first outgoing speech signal to provide a first outgoing signal; means for encrypting said first outgoing signal to provide an outgoing secure call for transmission to another teleconference user; third means at said signal processing means for summing said speech signals of said first and third inputs to provide a second outgoing speech signal; second means for coding said second outgoing speech signal to provide a second outgoing signal for transmission to a second adjacent user; means for encrypting said second outgoing signal to provide an outgoing secure call for transmission to another teleconference user; and conference control means for requesting, setting-up and supervising the interconnections of said secure telephone sets through said communications network means. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A telephone set useable for bridging conference calls when used in a teleconference network, comprising:
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means for demultiplexing an incoming call having multiplexed first and second signals received from a communications network having switching nodes and transmission links; means for decoding said first and second incoming signals to provide a first and second incoming speech signal; first means for summing said first and second incoming speech signals; user interface means having input means for receiving said incoming speech signals; means for detecting the presence of an outgoing speech signal from an output of said user interface means; second means for summing said first incoming speech signal with said outgoing speech signal to provide a first outgoing speech signal; third means for summing said second incoming speech signal with said outgoing speech signal to provide a second outgoing speech signal; means for coding said first and second outgoing speech signals to provide a first and second outgoing signal; and means for multiplexing said first and second outgoing signals for transmission via a logical channel to a switching network for channelling to another teleconference user. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51)
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Specification