System and process for mass telephony conference call

• US 8,385,526 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2006
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tele-Town Hall LLC
• Original Assignee: Tele-Town Hall LLC
• Inventors: Smelyansky, Vladimir, Marchevsky, Roman M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Intavong, Jirapon
• Application Number:
  US11/558,647
• Publication Number:
  US 20070121859A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,300 Days
• Field of Search: 379/202.01, 379/203.01, 379/204.01, 379/205.01
• US Class Current: 379/202.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2088 Call or conference reconnect, e.g. resulting from isdn terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5072 Multiple active speakers conducting a computer conference, e.g. Admission detection H04L12/1822
• 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: H04M 3/566 relating to a participants right to speak arrangements for multi-party communication with floor control, e.g. for conferences, H04L65/4038, H04L65/4046, H04L65/4053
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13166 Fault prevention
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13173 Busy signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1324 Conference call
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13376 Information service, downloading of information, 0800/0900 services
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0016 Arrangements providing connection between exchanges

Abstract

A method of controlling conference calls includes initiating a conference call between multiple conferees using a conferencing controller, placing each of the multiple conferees in a listen only mode using the conferencing controller, receiving a signal at the conferencing controller from a plurality of the conferees requesting active participation in the conference call, displaying a list of the plurality of conferees requesting active participation in the conference call, receiving from a user a selection of one of the plurality of conferees who have requested active participation in the conference call, and placing the one of the plurality of conferees in a talk mode using the conferencing controller. The method may also include monitoring a connection between the conferencing controller and a controlling application and notifying an operator if the connection is disrupted.

Claims

1. A method for controlling conference calls, comprising:

retrieving individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data, on multiple conferees on a pre-defined conferee list, from each of coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes using a conference controller which controls access to multiple parallel telephony systems;

selecting, using said conferencing controller, each of the multiple conferees of said conferee list, and assigning one of a predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, to manage establishment of maintenance of a connection to a selected conferee, said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes accommodating all of said multiple conferees on said conference list;

initiating said conference call between the multiple conferees using said individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data retrieved by said conference controller, once each selected conferee of said multiple conferees is assigned one of said predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes, by then simultaneously dialing all of said multiple conferees on said conference list using said coordinated parallel distributing dialing processes which are available, such that all of said multiple conferees on said conference list are contacted simultaneously using said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, with no processing delays related to connecting to any other of said multiple conferees.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

placing each of the multiple conferees in a listen only mode using the conferencing controller;

receiving a signal at the conferencing controller from a plurality of the conferees requesting active participation in the conference call;

displaying a list of the plurality of conferees requesting active participation in the conference call;

receiving from a user a selection of one of the plurality of conferees who have requested active participation in the conference call; and

placing the one of the plurality of conferees in a talk mode using the conferencing controller.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising displaying a location of each of the plurality of conferees requesting active participation in the conference call.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the location includes a zip code.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the location includes a city.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the location includes a state.

7. The method of claim 2 further comprising receiving from the user an indication to disallow one of the plurality of conferees from talking.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising returning the one of the plurality of conferees to the listen only mode using the conferencing controller.

9. The method of claim 2 further comprising returning one of the plurality of conferees to the listen only mode using the conferencing controller.

10. The method of claim 2 wherein the conference call is a town hall meeting event.

11. The method of claim 2 wherein the signal is a keypress in response to a prompt for an active response.

12. The method of claim 2 wherein the signal is a keypress to request switching to a full-duplex listen and talk mode.

13. The method of claim 2 further comprising displaying a list of at least one of the multiple conferees requesting active participation in the conference call.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising receiving from a user a selection of one of the conferees who have requested active participation in the conference call.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising placing one of the conferees who have requested active participation in the conference call indicated by the selection into a talk mode.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising displaying a location for each of the at least one of the multiple conferees requesting active participation in the conference call.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the location includes a zip code.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the location includes a city.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the location includes a state.

20. The method of claim 2 wherein the conference call is a political event.

21. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

accessing a conferee list based on one of an automatic number identifier from a telephone call initiating the conference call, or receipt of an action on a webpage to select the conference call, by one of the multiple conferees.

22. The method according to claim 2, wherein said conferencing controller sets up the conference call that is hosted by another device, including one of a public-switched telephone network (PSTN) or a private branch exchange (PBX).

23. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

adding new conferees to the conference call after the conference call has started.

24. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

adding new conferees to the conference call by broadcasting said conference call over at least one of the internet, radio, television, or other broadcast media, and

providing a telephone number to said new conferees to call to participate in said broadcast.

25. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

choosing one of the conferees in queue for talk mode.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein said talk mode is limited to a predetermined amount of time before said one of said conferees is removed from said talk mode.

27. The method according to claim 25, further comprising:

allowing a conferee to talk in talk mode, outside of said queue of conferees waiting to talk.

28. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

monitoring a connection between the conferencing controller and a controlling application;

wherein the step of monitoring includes calculating time since a most recent message of an exchange of messages, is communicated between the conferencing controller and the controlling application, and determining if the time is greater than a threshold value; and

stopping dialing of conferees and notifying an operator that said connection is disrupted by loss of service.

29. A method of providing conference call connections, comprising:

retrieving individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data from each of coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes using a conference controller which controls access to multiple parallel telephony systems;

selecting, using said conferencing controller, each of the multiple conferees of said conferee list, and assigning one of a predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, to manage establishment of maintenance of a connection to a selected conferee, said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes accommodating all of said multiple conferees on said conference list;

initiating said conference call between the multiple conferees using said individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data retrieved by said conference controller, once each selected conferee of said multiple conferees is assigned one of said predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes, by then simultaneously dialing all of said multiple conferees on said conference list using said coordinated parallel distributing dialing processes which are available, such that all of said multiple conferees on said conference list are contacted simultaneously using said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, with no processing delays related to connecting to any other of said multiple conferees;

placing each of the multiple conferees in a half-duplex mode using the conferencing controller;

receiving a signal at the conferencing controller from at least one of the multiple conferees to request active participation in the conference call;

monitoring a connection between the conferencing controller and a controlling application; and

notifying an operator when the connection is disrupted.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the step of monitoring includes calculating time since a most recent message of an exchange of messages, is communicated between the conferencing controller and the controlling application, and determining if the time is greater than a threshold value.

31. The method of claim 29 further comprising determining whether the connection is disrupted by loss of internet service.

32. The method of claim 29 wherein the conference call is a town meeting event.

33. A system for holding a meeting via conference calling, comprising:

a conferencing controller which retrieves individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data from each of coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes, and controls access to multiple parallel telephony systems; and

which selects, using said conferencing controller, each of the multiple conferees of said conferee list, and assigning one of a predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, to manage establishment of maintenance of a connection to a selected conferee, said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes accommodating all of said multiple conferees on said conference list; and

initiates a conference call between the multiple conferees using said individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data retrieved by said conference controller, once each selected conferee of said multiple conferees is assigned one of said predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes, by then simultaneously dialing all of said multiple conferees on said conference list using said coordinated parallel distributing dialing processes which are available, such that all of said multiple conferees on said conference list are contacted simultaneously using said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, with no processing delays related to connecting to any other of said multiple conferees, placing each of the multiple conferees in a listen only mode, and receiving a signal from a plurality of the conferees requesting active participation in the conference call;

a software application in communication with the conferencing controller which displays a list of the plurality of conferees requesting active participation in the conference call and receives from a user a selection of one of the plurality of conferees who have requested active participation in the conference call and places the one of the plurality of conferees in talk mode using the conferencing controller.

34. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions on holding a meeting via a conference call, comprising:

retrieving individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data, on multiple conferees on a pre-defined conferee list, from each of coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes using a conference controller which controls access to multiple parallel telephony systems;

selecting, using said conferencing controller, each of the multiple conferees of said conferee list, and assigning one of a predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, to manage establishment of maintenance of a connection to a selected conferee, said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes accommodating all of said multiple conferees on said conference list;

initiating said conference call between the multiple conferees using said individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data retrieved by said conference controller, once each selected conferee of said multiple conferees is assigned one of said predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes, by then simultaneously dialing all of said multiple conferees on said conference list using said coordinated parallel distributing dialing processes which are available, such that all of said multiple conferees on said conference list are contacted simultaneously using said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, with no processing delays related to connecting to any other of said multiple conferees.

35. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions on providing conference call connections, comprising:

retrieving individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data from each of coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes using a conference controller which controls access to multiple parallel telephony systems;

selecting, using said conferencing controller, each of the multiple conferees of said conferee list, and assigning one of a predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, to manage establishment of maintenance of a connection to a selected conferee, said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes accommodating all of said multiple conferees on said conference list;

initiating said conference call between the multiple conferees using said individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data retrieved by said conference controller, once each selected conferee of said multiple conferees is assigned one of said predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes, by then simultaneously dialing all of said multiple conferees on said conference list using said coordinated parallel distributing dialing processes which are available, such that all of said multiple conferees on said conference list are contacted simultaneously using said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, with no processing delays related to connecting to any other of said multiple conferees;

placing each of the multiple conferees in a half-duplex mode using the conferencing controller;

receiving a signal at the conferencing controller from at least one of the multiple conferees to request active participation in the conference call;

monitoring a connection between the conferencing controller and a controlling application; and

notifying an operator when the connection is disrupted.

36. A method of controlling conference calls, comprising:

retrieving individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data, on multiple conferees on a pre-defined conferee list, from each of parallel connection processes using a conference controller;

selecting, using said conferencing controller, each of the multiple conferees of said conferee list, and assigning one of a predetermined number of said parallel connection processes which are available, to manage establishment of maintenance of a connection to a selected conferee;

then

initiating said conference call between the multiple conferees using said individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data retrieved by said conference controller, once each selected conferee of said multiple conferees is assigned one of said predetermined number of said parallel connection processes, by then simultaneously dialing all of said multiple conferees on said conference list using said parallel connection processes; and

providing a start time offset for any of the multiple conferees, using said conferencing controller, based upon the statistical conferee connection data for each of the multiple conferees, such that each conferee starts the conference call simultaneously.

37. A computer-implemented method of controlling conference calls, comprising:

retrieving individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data, on multiple conferees on a pre-defined conferee list, from each of coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes using a conference controller which controls access to multiple parallel telephony systems;

selecting, using said conferencing controller, each of the multiple conferees of said conferee list, and assigning one of a predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, to manage establishment of maintenance of a connection to a selected conferee, said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes accommodating all of said multiple conferees on said conference list;

initiating said conference call between the multiple conferees using said individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data retrieved by said conference controller, once each selected conferee of said multiple conferees is assigned one of said predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes, by then simultaneously dialing all of said multiple conferees on said conference list using said coordinated parallel distributing dialing processes which are available, such that all of said multiple conferees on said conference list are contacted simultaneously using said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, with no processing delays related to connecting to any other of said multiple conferees; and

placing each of the multiple conferees in a listen only mode using the conferencing controller.

38. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions on holding a meeting via a conference call, comprising:

retrieving individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data, on multiple conferees on a pre-defined conferee list, from each of coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes using a conference controller which controls access to multiple parallel telephony systems;

selecting, using said conferencing controller, each of the multiple conferees of said conferee list, and assigning one of a predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, to manage establishment of maintenance of a connection to a selected conferee, said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes accommodating all of said multiple conferees on said conference list;

initiating said conference call between the multiple conferees using said individual multiple conferee connection status statistical data retrieved by said conference controller, once each selected conferee of said multiple conferees is assigned one of said predetermined number of said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes, by then simultaneously dialing all of said multiple conferees on said conference list using said coordinated parallel distributing dialing processes which are available, such that all of said multiple conferees on said conference list are contacted simultaneously using said coordinated parallel distributed dialing processes which are available, with no processing delays related to connecting to any other of said multiple conferees; and

placing each of the multiple conferees in a listen only mode using the conferencing controller.