Tag interrogator and microphone array for identifying a person speaking in a room

• US 7,995,731 B2
• Filed: 11/01/2006
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Vernick, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar; Ahmad F
• Assistant Examiner(s): GAY, SONIA L
• Application Number:
  US11/590,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20080101576A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,742 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/539.13, 381/92, 379/202.01
• US Class Current: 379/202.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6045 Identity confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/387 using subscriber identification cards
• 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

A conferencing room has conferencing equipment which identifies a person speaking, among a group of people in the conferencing room, to remote participants in a conference call. The conferencing equipment includes a plurality of unique tags, each fixed proximate to a seating position for a person in the conferencing room. Each person reads the tag at their seated position using a personal interrogator, which may be incorporated into a cellular telephone. The person'"'"'s identification and seated location are received and stored by a controller. The controller receives inputs from a microphone array, which monitors the voices in the room. By using the microphone array, the controller can approximate the source of the voice to one of the unique tag locations and hence can identify the person speaking.

Claims

1. Conference call equipment comprising:

a controller including;

an input to receive identification information about a person speaking on a conference call and location information about a fixed seating position within a conferencing room of the person speaking on the conference call, and

an output to transmit identification information about the person speaking on the conference call to other conference call participants;

a microphone array including a plurality of microphones located in fixed positions relative to the conferencing room, wherein said microphone array is connected to said controller, and wherein said controller uses sound intensities from said microphone array to determine the fixed seating position of the person speaking on the conference call; and

an interrogator, wherein said interrogator is incorporated into a cellular telephone carried by the person speaking on the conference call, and wherein said interrogator transmits said identification information and said location information to said input of said controller.

2. The conference call equipment of claim 1, wherein said interrogator is an RFID interrogator for reading an RFID tag mounted in a fixed position proximate a seating position in the conferencing room.

3. The conference call equipment of claim 1, wherein said interrogator is a bar code scanner for reading a bar code tag mounted in a fixed position proximate a seating position in the conferencing room.

4. The conference call equipment of claim 1, wherein at least one microphone of said microphone array is used to transmit the voices of participants to the conference call.

5. The conference call equipment of claim 1, wherein said microphone array includes a plurality of microphones mounted in or attached to the walls or ceiling of the conferencing room.

6. The conference call equipment of claim 1, wherein said microphone array includes a plurality of microphones mounted in or attached to a unit placed in the conferencing room.

7. The conference call equipment of claim 6, wherein said unit is a decorative housing for placement on a conference table in the conferencing room.

8. Conference call equipment comprising:

a controller including;

an input to receive identification information about a person speaking on a conference call and location information about a fixed seating position within a conferencing room of the person speaking on the conference call, and

an output to transmit identification information about the person speaking on the conference call to other conference call participants;

a microphone array including a plurality of microphones located in fixed positions relative to the conferencing room, wherein said microphone array is connected to said controller, and wherein said controller uses sound intensities from said microphone array to determine the fixed seating position of the person speaking on the conference call; and

an interrogator for transmitting said identification information and said location information to said input of said controller, wherein said interrogator is a user carried device which has a unique ID relating to said identification information and which is capable of reading said location information.

15. The conference call equipment of claim 8, wherein said interrogator is an RFID interrogator for reading an RFID tag mounted in a fixed position proximate a seating position in the conferencing room.

16. The conference call equipment of claim 8, wherein said interrogator is a bar code scanner for reading a bar code tag mounted in a fixed position proximate a seating position in the conferencing room.

17. The conference call equipment of claim 8, wherein at least one microphone of said microphone array is used to transmit the voices of participants to the conference call.

18. The conference call equipment of claim 8, wherein said microphone array includes a plurality of microphones mounted in or attached to the walls or ceiling of the conferencing room.

19. The conference call equipment of claim 8, wherein said microphone array includes a plurality of microphones mounted in or attached to a unit placed in the conferencing room.

20. The conference call equipment of claim 19, wherein said unit is a decorative housing for placement on a conference table in the conferencing room.

9. A method of operating conference call equipment comprising:

receiving an identification code about each person speaking on a conference call and a location code about a respective fixed seating position within a conferencing room of each person speaking on the conference call from a plurality of transmitting devices;

associating the identification code to the location code for each transmitting device;

monitoring the outputs of a plurality of microphones;

selecting a location code closest to a person speaking based upon the outputs of the plurality of microphones; and

sending a signal to other conference call equipment relating to the identification code associated with the selected location code, wherein the location code is embodied on a tag fixed in a location proximate a seating positioning in a conferencing room and read by a device carried by a participant of the conference call, the device carried by the participant having the identification code stored therein and including one of the plurality of transmitting devices.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the identification code is linked to a person'"'"'s name and the signal being sent to other conference call equipment represents the person'"'"'s name.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the identification code is linked to a person'"'"'s name and at least one of the following additional information:

job title, job description, biographical data, employer, business address, email address and telephone number, and the signal being sent to other conference call equipment represents the person'"'"'s name and the additional information.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the signal being sent is the identification code and the receiving conference call equipment accesses from a memory at least a person'"'"'s name corresponding to the identification code.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the identification code is a unique ID of the transmitting device and the unique ID is to the identity of the possessor of the transmitting device.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein said receiving step is accomplished via a wireless link.