Multimedia communications network

• US 5,471,318 A
• Filed: 04/22/1993
• Issued: 11/28/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ensor, James R., Aravamudan, Murali, Ahuja, Sudhir R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coles, Sr., Edward L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Grant, II, Jerome
• Application Number:
  US08/052,492
• Time in Patent Office: 950 Days
• Field of Search: 358/400, 358/407
• US Class Current: 358/400
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42221 Conversation recording systems at the subscriber's set H04M1/656
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/562 where the conference facilities are distributed
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/908 Multimedia

Abstract

A circuit configuration in a multimedia network representing a controllably persistent virtual meeting room simulates an actual meeting room where conferences between two or more people may be held. This facilitates the creation in the network of flexible, long-term multimedia conferences between conferees who are separated from one another. Any number of conferees may communicate with one another via one or more of audio, video, and data. Virtual meeting rooms may persist in the network for predetermined periods of time controlled by the users of the meeting room. The room may remain in the network independent of whether or not a user is connected to the room. The meeting room is a vehicle whereby the activity of various media servers is coordinated to effectuate conferences between multiple participants in more than one medium. The servers are associated with storage devices which may record or store certain aspects of multimedia conferences using the virtual meeting room.

Claims

1. A multimedia communications network capable of establishing predetermined voice, video, and data connections between two or more users, comprising:

a plurality of multimedia ports connectable to a plurality of users capable of communication by way of voice, video, and data;

a virtual meeting server in the network connected to the multimedia ports for creating and maintaining a circuit configuration in the network representing a controllably persistent virtual meeting room having predetermined user defined characteristics, the characteristics of the virtual meeting room being determined in response to commands from any one of the user terminals, the commands identifying a plurality of meeting participants and multimedia communications capabilities of each participant, the virtual meeting room comprising a virtual meeting room identification, a plurality of server descriptions, a meeting description, and a plurality of participant descriptions, the virtual meeting server having a means/br automatically associating a voice server, a video server, and a data server in the network with a meeting between a plurality of multimedia participants in response to at least one of the descriptions in the virtual meeting room;

a voice server, responsive to the virtual meeting server, tbr transmitting and receiving voice signals to and from selected multimedia ports in accordance with the meeting and participant descriptions in the virtual meeting room;

a video server, responsive to the virtual meeting server, for transmitting and receiving video signals to and from selected multimedia ports in accordance with the meeting and participant descriptions in the virtual meeting room; and

a data server, responsive to the virtual meeting server, for transmitting and receiving data signals to and from selected multimedia ports in accordance with the meeting and participant descriptions in the virtual meeting room;

the virtual meeting room being controllably persistent such that it can exist in the network independent of participants of a meeting being connected to the network.

2. The communications network of claim 1, in which at least one of the servers comprises a media bridge for receiving respective media communications signals from one or more meeting participants during a meeting and transmitting some or all of the media communications signals to one or more of the meeting participants during the meeting, the media bridge being associated with a storage device which is capable of recording some or all of the signals received by the media bridge during the meeting so that all meeting participants may disconnect from the network and then reconnect to the network and return to where the meeting left off at the time of disconnection.