Pausing a live teleconference call

• US 8,406,390 B1
• Filed: 08/23/2010
• Issued: 03/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Halferty, Clark Douglas, Hyde, Caleb Sisson, Wurtenberger, Andrew Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): ISLAM, MOHAMMAD K
• Application Number:
  US12/861,408
• Time in Patent Office: 946 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379/202.01, 379/207.01, 455/412.1, 455/416, 455/450
• US Class Current: 379/88.23
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/30 related to audio recordings in general
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/62 user interface aspects of conference calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42221 Conversation recording systems at the subscriber's set H04M1/656
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/564 whereby the feature is a sub-conference

Abstract

Methods and products are described for facilitating a method of controlling participation in a teleconference call. One embodiment of the method includes connection to a teleconference call so that a user of a communications device is capable of participating in the call. Any real-time inbound audio and real-time outbound audio is recorded and stored. At some point during the call, a pause command is received that indicates a desire to suspend real-time participation in the teleconference call and that starts a pause process. One embodiment of the pause process includes continuing to record the real-time inbound audio but preventing it from being presented via the communications device until a resume request is received, preventing the real-time outbound audio from being sent to other call participants until a resume request is received, and enabling a resume option that allows the user to re-engage in real-time participation in the teleconference call.

Claims

1. Non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed by a communications device, facilitate a method of controlling participation in a teleconference call, the method comprising:

connecting to the teleconference call such that a user of the communications device is capable of participating in the teleconference call;

recording any real-time inbound and real-time outbound audio that is communicated via the call, thereby resulting in stored audio,

(1) wherein the real-time inbound audio is audio that is being spoken by other call participants, and

(2) wherein the real-time outbound audio is local audio that is being communicated from the communications device to the other call participants;

receiving a pause command, which indicates a desire to suspend real-time participation in the teleconference call and which begins a pause process, which includes the following,

(1) continuing to record the real-time inbound audio but preventing it from being presented via the communications device until a resume request is received;

(2) preventing the real-time outbound audio from being communicated to the other call participants until a resume request is received; and

(3) enabling a resume option, which is activated by receiving the resume request, which, when received, re-enables communication of the real-time inbound and real-time outbound audio;

monitoring the real-time inbound audio even though it is no longer being substantially presented via speaker, wherein the monitoring includes determining that a key phrase has been spoken by one or more of the other call participants, and wherein the live call is resumed automatically without a resume request from the user; and

resuming the live call when the key phrase is spoken.

2. The media of claim 1, wherein preventing the real-time inbound audio from being presented via the communications device includes substantially preventing it from being outputted via a speaker of the communications device.

3. The media of claim 1, wherein preventing the real-time outbound audio from being communicated to the other call participants is accomplished by muting a microphone of the communications device.

4. The media of claim 1, wherein the pause process further includes outputting onto a display of the communications a text translation of the real-time inbound audio, thereby enabling a user to read comments from the other participants even after the pause command is received.

5. The media of claim 1, wherein the pause process further includes monitoring the real-time inbound audio even though it is no longer being substantially presented via speaker.

6. The media of claim 5, wherein the monitoring includes determining that a key phrase has been spoken by one or more of the other participants.

7. The media of claim 6, further comprising presenting an indication that the key phrase was spoken.

8. The media of claim 7, wherein presenting the indicating includes presenting one or more of:

a visual indication;

an audible indication;

or

a feel indication.

9. The media of claim 8, wherein the visual indication includes a transcription of a usage of the key phrase.

10. The media of claim 8, wherein the transcription includes surrounding context associated with the key phrase.

11. The media of claim 1, wherein the pause process further includes enabling a playback process, which includes playing back the stored audio at a playback speed.

12. The media of claim 1, wherein the playback speed is one or more of:

slower than a recorded rate;

equal to the recorded rate;

or

faster than the recorded rate.

13. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed on a communications device, facilitate a method of controlling participation of a user in a teleconference call, the method comprising:

facilitating real-time participation in the teleconference call, which includes presenting real-time audio received from the other participants and communicating any real-time audio from the user;

storing the real-time audio received from the participants, thereby providing stored received audio;

storing the real-time audio communicated from the user, thereby providing stored sent audio;

initiating a pause process in which the user'"'"'s real-time participation in the teleconference call is paused, but the connection to the call is maintained; and

;

enabling a playback option, which, when engaged triggers a playback process that plays back one or more of the stored received audio or the stored sent audio;

monitoring the real-time inbound audio even though it is no longer being substantially presented via speaker, wherein the monitoring includes determining that a key phrase has been spoken by one or more of the other call participants and wherein the live call is resumed automatically without a resume request from the user; and

resuming the live call when the key phrase is spoken.

14. The media of claim 13, wherein facilitating the real-time participation in the teleconference call is carried out incident to receiving input from a user to establish a connection to a teleconference call, which includes other participants.

15. The media of claim 13, wherein the pause process includes monitoring the real-time audio received from the participants for a key phrase, which, if spoken, would invoke a notification process.

16. The media of claim 14, wherein the notification process includes presenting a visual indication that the key phrase was spoken.

17. The media of claim 16, wherein the visual indication includes a transcription of the key phrase.

18. The media of claim 13, further comprising presenting a playback control on a display of the communications device.

19. The media of claim 13, wherein the pause process is initiated without providing an indication to the other participants that the pause process was initiated.

20. A method of controlling participation in a teleconference call, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a given user and requests from other participants to join a conference call (“

call”

);

facilitating recording all audio that is communicated via the call, thereby producing recorded audio;

from a communications device that is associated with the user, receiving a request to pause the call;

continuing to communicate audio information to the communications device while preventing the device from being used to participate in real time in the conference call until receiving a request to do so (“

a catch-up request”

);

receiving a request to playback at least a portion of the recorded audio (“

audio portion”

); and

during the call, playing back the audio portion through the communications device such that the given user is able to listen to the recorded audio without severing a connection with the call, which can be rejoined at will by way of the catch-up request;

monitoring the real-time inbound audio even though it is no longer being substantially presented via speaker, wherein the monitoring includes determining that a key phrase has been spoken by one or more of the other call participants and wherein the live call is resumed automatically without a resume request from the user; and

resuming the live call when the key phrase is spoken.