Routing system and method for a teleconferencing system
First Claim
1. A method for routing calls in a system having a plurality of calling stations for calling a plurality of receiving stations over a switched network, wherein a calling station communicates with a receiving station through first and second calls connected at the same time, the method implemented by a switching system that routes calls from the switched network to the receiving stations, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving a call originating from a calling station;
(b) determining whether there is an existing call currently connected from the calling station to a receiving station;
(c) if it is determined in step (b) that an existing call from the calling station is currently connected to a receiving station, routing the received call to the receiving station such that the received call and the existing call are thereby connected to the receiving station at the same time; and
(d) if it is determined in step (b) that no existing call from the calling station is currently connected to any one of the receiving stations, routing the received call to a receiving station that does not already have an existing call.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In a networked videoconferencing system, a receiver with a number of receiving stations receives calls from a number of different calling stations. To get appropriate bandwidth, two calls are connected at the same time from the calling station to one of the receiving stations. The receiver includes an access switch that uses information from the calling station to pair calls together so that two calls from one calling station are routed to the same receiving station, regardless of the order in which the calls are received by the access switch. The access switch can use one or a combination of routing methods including storing all pairs of incoming numbers in a table and/or by using comparisons of similar numbers.
47 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for routing calls in a system having a plurality of calling stations for calling a plurality of receiving stations over a switched network, wherein a calling station communicates with a receiving station through first and second calls connected at the same time, the method implemented by a switching system that routes calls from the switched network to the receiving stations, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving a call originating from a calling station; (b) determining whether there is an existing call currently connected from the calling station to a receiving station; (c) if it is determined in step (b) that an existing call from the calling station is currently connected to a receiving station, routing the received call to the receiving station such that the received call and the existing call are thereby connected to the receiving station at the same time; and (d) if it is determined in step (b) that no existing call from the calling station is currently connected to any one of the receiving stations, routing the received call to a receiving station that does not already have an existing call. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for use in a system having a plurality of calling stations for calling a plurality of receiving stations over a switched network, wherein a calling station communicates with a receiving station through first and second calls connected at the same time, the method implemented by a switching system that routes calls from the switched network to the receiving stations, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving a first call having a first identification number; (b) receiving a second call having a second identification number; (c) routing the first and second calls to a receiving station so that the first and second calls are connected to the receiving station at the same time; (d) determining whether the first and second calls were received from the same calling station; and (e) storing the first and second identification numbers in a storage element for future access in response to the determination in step (d), the storing being done such that the second identification number and the first identification number are linked so that by accessing the storage element with one of the first and second identification numbers, the other of the first and second identification numbers is retrieved. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A receiver for receiving calls from a plurality of calling stations over a network in a system, transmissions between the calling stations and receiving stations being made through first and second calls at the same time, the receiver comprising:
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a plurality of receiving stations; and a switching system for receiving calls from the network and for routing the calls to the receiving stations, the switching system including; a processor, responsive to a received call from a calling station, for determining whether there is an existing call from the calling station currently connected to a receiving station, and a switch, controlled by the processor, for routing the received call to the same receiving station as the existing call in response to a determination that the existing call from that calling station is currently connected to a certain receiving station, and for routing the received call to an idle receiving station in response to a determination that a no existing call from the calling station is currently connected to any receiving station. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. In a system having a plurality of calling stations for calling, over a switched network, a receiver having a plurality of receiving stations wherein a calling station communicates with a receiving station through first and second calls at the same time, a switching system for the receiver comprising:
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means for routing first and second calls to a receiving station; a processor for determining whether the first and second routed calls originated with the same calling station after the calls have already been routed; and a storage element, coupled to the processor, for storing the first and second identification numbers in response to the determination by the processor, the storing being done such that the second identification number and the first identification number are linked so that by accessing the storage element with one of the first and second identification numbers, the other of the first and second identification numbers is retrieved. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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Specification