Call me conference call system
First Claim
1. A multiple-party telephone conferencing system comprising:
- conference bridge connected with a telecommunications network;
conference bridge reservation system that stores information defining a telephone conference call, said information including at least a host telephone number associated with a host of said conference call and a scheduled time for a telephone conference call, said host telephone number being the normal telephone directory number of the host;
switch that serves a host subscriber line having the host telephone number;
a services circuit point coupled to the switch;
called party busy trigger facility associated with the switch that launches a first query to said services control point for instructions regarding treatment to be applied to an incoming call made to the host telephone number when the host telephone is busy;
services circuit point generating a second query seeking said information stored in the conference bridge reservation system relating to the conference call associated with the host;
services circuit point determining if the incoming call to the host telephone number is being made during said scheduled time;
the services circuit point transmitting a message to the switch instructing the switch to redirect the incoming call for the host to said conference bridge upon the services circuit point determining that the incoming call to the host telephone number is being made during said scheduled time; and
said conference bridge being responsive to said redirected call from said host telephone number to join said redirected call to said conference call.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A “Call Me” conference call system includes a multiport conference unit (MCU) interconnected with the public switched telecommunications network (PSTN), a telecommunications switching system also interconnected with the PSTN, a service control point (SCP) or other intelligent network control component having at least a signaling connection to the switching system, a Call Me conference bridge reservation system interconnected with the SCP and the MCU, and suitable facilities interconnecting these components. When a conference reservation is made, information regarding the conference is distributed to the SCP and MCU. A “Called Party Busy” trigger is applied to the conference host'"'"'s line. To join the conference, the host and participants alike simply call the host'"'"'s telephone number. The switching system, finding the host'"'"'s line busy, queries the SCP, which instructs it to redirect the call to the MCU. The MCU associates the call with a reserved conference by matching the called number with a host'"'"'s telephone number in reservation records. This advantageously avoids the need for hosts to distribute, and participants to receive a special conference bridge telephone number or access code.
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Citations
2 Claims
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1. A multiple-party telephone conferencing system comprising:
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conference bridge connected with a telecommunications network;
conference bridge reservation system that stores information defining a telephone conference call, said information including at least a host telephone number associated with a host of said conference call and a scheduled time for a telephone conference call, said host telephone number being the normal telephone directory number of the host;
switch that serves a host subscriber line having the host telephone number;
a services circuit point coupled to the switch;
called party busy trigger facility associated with the switch that launches a first query to said services control point for instructions regarding treatment to be applied to an incoming call made to the host telephone number when the host telephone is busy;
services circuit point generating a second query seeking said information stored in the conference bridge reservation system relating to the conference call associated with the host;
services circuit point determining if the incoming call to the host telephone number is being made during said scheduled time;
the services circuit point transmitting a message to the switch instructing the switch to redirect the incoming call for the host to said conference bridge upon the services circuit point determining that the incoming call to the host telephone number is being made during said scheduled time; and
said conference bridge being responsive to said redirected call from said host telephone number to join said redirected call to said conference call.
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2. A method for establishing a multiple-party telephone conference call for a host supported by a switch comprising the steps of:
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storing information defining a telephone conference call in a conference bridge reservation system, said information including at least a host telephone number associated with a host of said conference call and a scheduled time for a telephone conference call, said host telephone number being the normal telephone directory number of the host;
receiving at the switch an incoming call to the host telephone number;
determining that the host telephone line is busy;
using a called party busy trigger facility associated with the switch to launch a first query to a services control point for instructions regarding treatment to be applied to the incoming call to the busy host telephone number;
generating a second query from the services circuit point seeking said information stored in the conference bridge reservation system relating to the conference call associated with the host;
determining by the services circuit point if the incoming call to the host telephone number is being made during said scheduled time;
transmitting from the services circuit point a message to the switch instructing the switch to redirect the incoming call for the host to said conference bridge upon the services circuit point determining that the incoming call to the host telephone number is being made during said scheduled time;
redirecting, by the switch, the incoming call to the conference bridge; and
the conference bridge responding to said redirected call from said host telephone number and joining said redirected call to said conference call.
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Specification