N-ways conference system using only participants' telephony devices without external conference server

• US 7,496,188 B2
• Filed: 09/20/2004
• Issued: 02/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shae, Zon-Yin, Saha, Debanjan
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar; Ahmad F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen; Khai N
• Application Number:
  US10/945,379
• Publication Number:
  US 20060062368A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,618 Days
• Field of Search: 379/202.01, 379/204.01, 379/205.01, 379/206.01, 379/207.01
• US Class Current: 379/202.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/12 Marking faulty circuits "busy"; Enabling equipment to disengage itself from faulty circuits ; Using redundant circuits; Response of a circuit, apparatus or system to an error
• 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

Abstract

An n-ways conferencing system using only the participants'"'"' telephony devices and without an external conference server. A plurality of telephony devices dial in to and report their mixing capability to a connection topology manager. The connection topology manager also determines the location of each telephony device and neighboring telephony device pairs in the conference service, as each telephony device is used for mixing voice signals of its closest neighbors, and calculates a minimum conference traffic delay for each telephony device. The connection topology manager then builds a topology for the conference service based on the mixing capability, location, and minimum conference traffic delay, wherein the connection topology manager distributes a mixing computation in a substantially uniform manner across the plurality of telephony devices. When a change in the network condition is detected, the connection topology manager rebuilds the topology to bypass the change in the network condition.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method in a data processing system for providing a n-ways conferencing, comprising:

receiving requests at a connection topology manager for a conference service from a plurality of telephony devices, wherein at least one of a telephony device in the plurality of telephony devices has three-way mixing capability, and wherein each telephony device in the plurality of telephony devices sends its mixing capability information using a signaling protocol to the connection topology manager;

determining, by the connection topology manager, location information of each telephony device in the conference service, wherein each telephony device is used for mixing voice signals of its closest telephony device neighbors;

calculating, by the connection topology manager, minimum conference traffic delay for each telephony device in the conference service using network condition information obtained from probes sent between telephony devices in the conference service;

building, by the connection topology manager, a connection topology for connecting the plurality of telephony devices in the conference service using a signaling protocol based on the mixing capability information, location information, and the minimum conference traffic delay, wherein the connection topology manager distributes a voice mixing computation in a substantially uniform manner across the plurality of telephony devices;

receiving signals at the connection topology manager from the plurality of telephony devices indicating connections in the connection topology are functioning properly; and

responsive to detecting a failure in a telephony device'"'"'s connections, rebuilding, by the connection topology manager, the connection topology using a shadow ring to bypass the detected failure.