Internet-enabled conferencing system and method accommodating PSTN and IP traffic
First Claim
1. Software associated with an Internet Protocol (IP) user, comprising:
- conference scheduling software operable to;
provide at least one page to the IP user comprising one or more scheduling input fields for a requested conference involving at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) caller and at least one IP caller;
receive scheduling input from the IP user for the requested conference, according to the scheduling input fields, for communication to a server complex associated with the conference bridge; and
control software for controlling selected aspects of a conference in progress, the conference involving at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) caller and at least one IP caller, the control software operable to;
in response to the IP user being provided with current state information for the conference, receive control input from the IP user for communication to a conference bridge in which the conference is implemented.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for scheduling a conference between callers includes a database that stores scheduling information indicating at least a start time, a duration, and a maximum number of callers for one or more scheduled conferences, the scheduling information reflecting available conferencing resources. A server complex coupled to the database communicates, to a requesting Internet Protocol (IP) user, at least one page including one or more scheduling input fields. The server complex receives scheduling input from the requesting IP user for a requested conference according to the scheduling input fields. The server complex accesses the database to determine, according to the scheduling input, whether sufficient resources are available for the requested conference. If so, the server complex allocates at least some available resources to the requested conference and generates confirmations of the requested conference for communication to the callers.
366 Citations
34 Claims
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1. Software associated with an Internet Protocol (IP) user, comprising:
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conference scheduling software operable to;
provide at least one page to the IP user comprising one or more scheduling input fields for a requested conference involving at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) caller and at least one IP caller;
receive scheduling input from the IP user for the requested conference, according to the scheduling input fields, for communication to a server complex associated with the conference bridge; and
control software for controlling selected aspects of a conference in progress, the conference involving at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) caller and at least one IP caller, the control software operable to;
in response to the IP user being provided with current state information for the conference, receive control input from the IP user for communication to a conference bridge in which the conference is implemented. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method implemented in computer software associated with an Internet Protocol (IP) user, comprising:
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providing at least one page to the IP user using conference scheduling software, the page comprising scheduling one or more scheduling input fields for a requested conference involving at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) caller and at least one IP caller;
receiving scheduling input from the IP user for the requested conference, according to the scheduling input fields, for communication to a server complex associated with a conference bridge; and
in response to the IP user being provided with current state information for a conference in progress involving at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) caller and at least one IP caller, receiving conference control input from the IP user using control software for communication to the conference bridge, the conference control input for controlling selected aspects of the conference. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for conferencing callers, comprising:
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a database operable to store current state information for one or more conferences, at least one of the conferences involving at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) caller and at least one Internet Protocol (IP) caller;
a conference bridge node coupled to the database and operable to;
generate conference traffic for communication to the callers;
generate current state information for each conference for communication to IP users associated with the conferences; and
in addition, periodically communicate current state information for each conference to the database for storage; and
a server complex coupled to the database and to the conference bridge node, the server complex operable to;
periodically access the stored current state information for at least one conference associated with an IP user; and
communicate at least some of that stored current state information to the IP user. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for conferencing callers, comprising:
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storing in a database current state information for one or more conferences, at least one of the conferences involving at least one public switched telephone network (PSTN) caller and at least one Internet Protocol (IP) caller;
generating conference traffic using a conference bridge node for communication to the callers;
generating current state information for each conference using the conference bridge node for communication to IP users associated with the conferences;
periodically communicating current state information for the conferences from the conference bridge node to the database for storage;
using a server complex, periodically accessing the stored current state information for at least one conference associated with an IP user; and
communicating at least some of that stored current state information from the server complex to the IP user. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification