System and method for establishing and controlling an on-demand teleconference by a remote computer

• US 7,119,828 B1
• Filed: 04/25/2003
• Issued: 10/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Act Teleconferencing, Inc. (Premier Global Services, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Act Teleconferencing, Inc. (Premier Global Services, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kizhnerman, M. Sean, Kizhnerman, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah, Melur
• Application Number:
  US10/423,693
• Time in Patent Office: 1,264 Days
• Field of Search: 348 1401- 1409, 348/14.11, 348/14.12, 348/14.13, 379/202.01, 370/260, 370/261, 707/100, 707/1, 717/100, 709/204
• US Class Current: 348/14.08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

A teleconference network, using multiple teleconference bridges and a data network is disclosed. A first telephone network transmits, in one or more frames, a voice transmission generated by a first telecommunication unit. A first gateway, connected to said first telephone network, converts each frame received from said first telephone network into one or more data packets. A first routing device, coupled to said first gateway and said data network, transmits the one or more data packets generated by said first gateway through said data network. A second routing device, coupled to said data network, receives the one or more data packets transmitted by said first routing device. A second gateway, coupled to said second routing device, converts the data packets received by said second routing devices into frames. One of the multiple teleconference bridges inserts the frames received from said second gateway into a teleconference hosted on said bridge.

Claims

1. A teleconference system comprising:

a plurality of teleconference bridges each having a plurality of ports for establishing a teleconference between two or more attendees accessing the ports of a single bridge;

two or more maintenance and administration terminals, each connected to at least one teleconference bridge, for generating one or more transaction records in response to a change in the status of any port on the at least one connected teleconference bridge;

two or more first servers, each connected to at least one of said maintenance and administration terminals, for receiving the one or more transaction records generated by the at least one of said maintenance and administrative terminals and storing the one or more transaction records in a first database; and

a second server, connected to said first server, having an interface operable to send the one or more transaction records stored in said first database, to a remote computer.

2. The teleconference system of claim 1 wherein said second server is connected to said remote computer via a packet network.

3. The teleconference system of claim 1 wherein said second server is connected to said remote computer via a circuit connection.

4. The teleconference system of claim 1 further comprising:

a second database connected to said maintenance and administrative terminal for storing one or more passcodes.

5. The teleconference system of claim 4 wherein said remote computer is capable of changing at least one of the one or more passcodes stored in said second database.

6. The teleconference system of claim 1 wherein the teleconference established between the attendees is an audio conference.

7. The teleconference system of claim 1 wherein the teleconference established between the attendees is a video conference.

8. The teleconference system of claim 1 wherein said first server generates billing data by applying billing rules stored in said first database to the one or more transaction records received by said first server from the maintenance and administrative terminal.

9. The teleconference system of claim 8 wherein said first server stores the generated billing data in said first database.

10. The teleconference system of claim 9 wherein the interface of said second server sends the billing data stored in said first database to said remote computer via a packet network.

11. The teleconference system of claim 9 wherein the interface of said second server sends the billing data stored in said first database to said remote computer via a circuit connection.

12. The teleconference system of claim 9 wherein the first database is distributed on multiple devices.