Method and apparatus for automatic notification of conference status

• US 8,351,587 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2005
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unify Patente GmbH & Co. KG (Atos Se)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Enterprise Communications, Inc. (Atos SE)
• Inventors: Maskell, Jay, Levy, Jacqueline, Sharland, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): DEANE JR, WILLIAM J
• Application Number:
  US11/136,113
• Publication Number:
  US 20060285672A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,786 Days
• Field of Search: 379/202.02, 379/203.01, 379/204.01, 379/205.01, 379/206.01, 379/207.01, 379/207.11, 379/158, 37921101-21103, 379/207.02, 379/210.01, 37926501-26514, 370/260
• US Class Current: 379/202.01
• 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: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15

Abstract

A telecommunications device including a notification set-up unit associated with a user device; an access control unit configured to receive notification configuration information from said notification set-up unit and provide notification to said user device of a pending conference in accordance with said notification configuration information.

Claims

1. A telecommunications system, comprising:

a notification set-up unit associated with a user device, wherein said user device is used by a first member of a workgroup, the workgroup comprising a plurality of members; and

an access control unit receiving notification information from said notification set-up unit and automatically providing a notification to said user device whenever there is a pending conference for all members of the workgroup and the first member of the workgroup is not present in the pending conference in accordance with said notification information, the pending conference being a conference having already begun; and

wherein said notification information identifies requirements for the pending conference.

2. The telecommunications system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said notification is provided by a messaging application.

3. The telecommunications system in accordance with claim 2, wherein said messaging application is an Instant Messaging application.

4. The telecommunications system in accordance with claim 2, wherein said messaging application is Short Message Service (SMS) application.

5. The telecommunications system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said notification set-up unit comprises a server.

6. The telecommunications system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said notification set-up unit receives the notification information from an input system, wherein the input system is a voice recognition input system.

7. The telecommunications system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said notification set-up unit receives the notification information from an input system, wherein the input system comprises an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system for receiving a DTMF input or a voice input.

8. The telecommunications system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said access control unit is further configured to automatically attempt to add the user device to the conference after the notification has been sent.

9. A telecommunications method comprising:

providing notification setup parameters from a user device used by a first member of a workgroup to a notification setup unit, the workgroup having a plurality of members that comprises the first member and other members, the notification setup unit being stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium; and

automatically notifying said user device whenever there is a pending conference that already began to which all members of the workgroup are to be participating when the first member is not yet present in the pending conference via a messaging application in accordance with said notification setup parameters.

10. The telecommunications method in accordance with claim 9, wherein said messaging application is an Instant Messaging application.

11. The telecommunications method in accordance with claim 9, wherein said messaging application is Short Message Service (SMS) application.

12. The telecommunications method in accordance with claim 9, wherein said providing notification setup parameters comprises providing notification setup parameters via a server.

13. The telecommunications method in accordance with claim 9, wherein said providing notification setup parameters comprises providing notification setup parameters via an input system, wherein the input system is a voice recognition input system.

14. The telecommunications method in accordance with claim 9, wherein said providing notification setup parameters comprises providing notification setup parameters via an IVR system for receiving a DTMF input or a voice input.

15. The telecommunications method in accordance with claim 9, further comprising automatically attempting to add the user device to the conference after a notification for notifying of the user device has been sent.

16. A method of telecommunication comprising:

defining a workgroup, the workgroup comprising a plurality of members, each of the members associated with at least one user device;

at least one user device associated with a first member of the workgroup sending notification parameters to a notification setup unit, the notification setup unit having a non-transitory computer readable medium;

the notification setup unit receiving the notification parameters sent by the at least one user device associated with the first member;

storing the notification parameters;

initiating a conference with all the members of the workgroup;

a telephony control unit attempting to connect the workgroup to the conference; and

if the first member associated with the at least one user device is not connected to the conference;

a messaging service sending a message to be output at a specified contact device associated with the first member, the message being sent according to the notification parameters sent by the at least one user device.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising automatically connecting the at least one user device to the conference upon acknowledgment of the message.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the notification setup unit is a server, the telephony control unit is a server, and the messaging service is a server.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the notification parameters comprise at least one of a contact medium, a place for a call back, a call back time, and a contact number for the specified contact device.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the specified contact device and the at least one user device are different devices or are the same device.