Managing a packet switched conference call

• US 8,169,937 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2009
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ThinkLogix, LLC (Ascend Innovation Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Kuusinen, Jarmo, Lakaniemi, Ari
• Primary Examiner(s): Hashem, Lisa
• Application Number:
  US12/348,445
• Publication Number:
  US 20090109879A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,212 Days
• Field of Search: 370261-269, 37920201-20701
• US Class Current: 370/267
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/569 using the instant speaker's algorithm speech detection per se G10L25/78
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for managing a packet switched, centralized conference call between a plurality of terminals 13. In order to enable an enhancement of the user comfort, it is proposed that the method comprises at a conference call server 12 receiving data packets from all terminals 13. Based on these data packets, then at least one terminal 13 currently providing voice data is determined. In a next step, the data received in the data packets is mixed, and the mixed data is inserted into new data packets together with at least one identifier associated to one of the terminals 13 which were determined to provide voice data, such that the at least one identifier can be distinguished from any other information in the data packets. Finally, the new data packets are transmitted to terminals 13 participating in the conference call. The invention relates equally to a, corresponding server and to a corresponding terminal

Claims

1. A conference call server comprising:

a receiver configured to receive data packets from each of a plurality of terminals participating in a conference call; and

a mixer operatively coupled to the receiver and configured to

decode the data packets to extract background noise information;

determine if a data packet from the data packets includes voice data, wherein the data packet is received from a first terminal;

if the data packet includes the voice data, extract an identifier associated with the first terminal;

mix the voice data, if any, with the background noise information; and

provide the mixed voice data and background noise information and the extracted identifier to each of the plurality of terminals in an outbound packet.

2. The conference call server of claim 1, wherein the mixer is further configured to provide a mapping of identifiers to the plurality of terminals.

3. The conference call server of claim 2, wherein the mapping of identifiers associates the identifier associated with the first terminal with a telephone number of the first terminal.

4. The conference call server of claim 2, wherein the mapping of identifiers associates the identifier associated with the first terminal with a session initiation protocol (SIP) address of the first terminal.

5. The conference call server of claim 1, wherein the outbound packet further includes a second identifier corresponding to at least one terminal that transmitted background noise.

6. The conference call server of claim 1, wherein, if the data packet from the first terminal includes the voice data, the outbound packet further includes a marker configured to distinguish the first terminal from a second terminal that transmitted background noise.

7. A method for managing a call comprising:

decoding, at a computing device, data packets received from each of a plurality of terminals participating in a conference call to extract background noise information;

determining, at the computing device, if a data packet from the data packets includes voice data, wherein the data packet is received from a first terminal;

if the data packet includes the voice data, extracting, at the computing device, an identifier associated with the first terminal;

mixing, at the computing device, the voice data, if any, with the background noise information; and

providing, from the computing device, the mixed voice data and background noise information and the extracted identifier to each of the plurality of terminals in an outbound packet.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising providing a mapping of identifiers to the plurality of terminals.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the mapping of identifiers associates the identifier with a telephone number of the first terminal or with a session initiation protocol (SIP) address of the first terminal.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the outbound packet further includes a second identifier corresponding to at least one terminal that transmitted background noise.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising receiving the data packets as one or more real-time transport protocol (RTP) streams.

12. A first terminal comprising:

means for sending a first data packet to a conference call server, wherein the first data packet includes first background noise information and an identifier associated with the first terminal;

means for receiving a second data packet from the conference call server, wherein the second data packet includes second background noise information from a second terminal mixed with voice data from a third terminal, wherein the second terminal and the third terminal are participating in a conference call with the first terminal, and further wherein the second data packet includes an active terminal identifier associated with the third terminal, wherein the voice data is included in the second data packet based at least in part on a determination by the conference call server that a third data packet received from the third terminal includes the voice data; and

means for presenting the active terminal identifier, wherein the active terminal identifier indicates that the third terminal sent the voice data to the conference call server.

13. The first terminal of claim 12, further comprising means for presenting a name associated with the third terminal.

14. The first terminal of claim 12, further comprising means for presenting an image associated with the third terminal.

15. The first terminal of claim 12, further comprising means for receiving a mapping of identifiers from the conference call server, wherein the mapping of identifiers associates the active terminal identifier with the third terminal.

16. The first terminal of claim 12, further comprising means for receiving a marker configured to distinguish the second terminal from third terminal.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions to send a first data packet to a conference call server, wherein the first data packet includes first background noise information and an identifier associated with a first terminal;

instructions to receive a second data packet from the conference call server, wherein the second data packet includes second background noise information from a second terminal mixed with voice data from a third terminal, wherein the second terminal and the third terminal are participating in a conference call with the first terminal, and further wherein the second data packet includes an active terminal identifier associated with the third terminal, wherein the voice data is included in the second data packet based at least in part on a determination by the conference call server that a third data packet received from the third terminal includes the voice data; and

instructions to present the active terminal identifier, wherein the active terminal identifier indicates that the third terminal sent the voice data to the conference call server.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising instructions to receive a mapping of identifiers from the conference call server, wherein the mapping of identifiers associates the active terminal identifier with the third terminal.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising instructions to present an image on a display, wherein the image is associated with the third terminal.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising instructions to present a name on a display, wherein the name is associated with the third terminal.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising instructions to present a telephone number on a display, wherein the telephone number is associated with the third terminal.