Telecommunication and multimedia management method and apparatus

• US 8,855,276 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2008
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Voxer IP LLC (Voxer, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Voxer IP LLC (Voxer, Inc.)
• Inventors: Katis, Thomas E., Panttaja, James T., Panttaja, Mary G., Ranney, Matthew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Elahee, MD S
• Application Number:
  US12/206,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20090103693A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,220 Days
• Field of Search: 379 8822- 8826, 379/93.12, 379/265.09, 379/106.09, 379/88.13, 379/88.14, 379/93.15, 379/100.13, 379/142.14, 709/206, 709/219, 709/217, 370/352, 370/401, 370/432
• US Class Current: 379/88.23
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/301 Management of recordings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42221 Conversation recording systems at the subscriber's set H04M1/656
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42314 in private branch exchanges

Abstract

An apparatus for enabling legacy communication devices to engage in conversations in either a near real-time or a time-shifted mode. The apparatus includes a gateway node having a first interface to enable the gateway node to receive conversation control information from a remote conversation management device and a second interface to couple the gateway node to a communication network. The communication network is configured to support a conversation between a first communication device and one or more other communication devices over the communication network. The gateway node further includes a message buffer configured to receive over the second interface media of the conversation and to store the media of the conversation as the media is received from the communication network. The gateway node also includes a conversation management element configured to receive the conversation control information from the remote conversation management device, and in response, manage the rendering of the conversation for the first communication device by controlling the timing of when the media is (i) retrieved from the message buffer and (ii) transmitted over the communication network to the first communication device.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a gateway node;

an interface for coupling the gateway node to a communication network, the gateway node configured to support a conversation between a first communication device and one or more other communication devices over the communication network;

a media buffer provided at the gateway node and configured to progressively receive through the interface media of the conversation, the media buffer progressively storing the media of the conversation as the media is progressively received over the communication network;

a conversation management element provided at the gateway node and configured to receive conversation control information, the conversation management element managing the rendering of the media of the conversation for the first communication device in response to the received conversation control information so that the media of the conversation is selectively rendered at the first communication device;

(i) in near real-time by progressively forwarding the media of the conversation to the first communication device as the media is progressively received over the communication network from the one or more communication devices and progressively stored in the media buffer; and

(ii) in a time-shifted mode at a selected point in time after the media was progressively received over the communication network from the one or more communication devices by retrieving from the media buffer and progressively forwarding the media to the first communication device; and

a converter configured to perform, as necessary, a translation of the media of the conversation between formats used by the gateway node and on the communication network.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management element is further configured to selectively and progressively transmit the media of the conversation created using the first communication device to the one or more other communication devices either:

(i) in near real-time as the media is received at the gateway node; and

(ii) at a selected point in time after the media was received at the gateway node,

the selective transmission of the media either in accordance with either (i) or (ii) in response to conversation control information received from the one or more other communication devices-respectively.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a user interface for facilitating a user of the first communication device to provide the conversation control information to the conversation management element.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation control information comprises one or more of the following:

(i) DTMF signals;

(ii) data generated by an application executed on a computer;

(iii) data generated through a browser application running on a computer;

(iv) voice commands;

(iv) radio signals;

or

(v) any combination of (i) through (v).

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management element provides to the first communication device conversation related information, the conversation related information including one or more of the following:

(i) participants in the conversation;

(ii) the status of each of the participants in the conversation;

(iii) the time the media of the conversation was created;

(iv) the date the media of the conversation was created;

(v) the communication device which created the media;

or

(iv) interrupts or other alerts.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management element further comprises a conversation database configured to store conversational information pertaining to the conversation.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the conversational information pertains to one or more of the following:

participants of the conversation;

contact information for the participants;

presence information of the participants;

status information of the participants; and

position of the participants with respect to the head of the conversation.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the media buffer is further configured to store the media of the conversation including both:

(i) the media generated using the first communication device pertaining to the conversation as the media is created and progressively transmitted; and

(ii) the media received over the communication network from the one or more other communication devices participating in the conversation as the media is created and progressively transmitted.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the media buffer is further configured to progressively store the media of the conversation in a time-indexed format.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the media buffer is configured to persistently store the media of the conversation.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an archive storage system, coupled to the gateway node, and configured to archive the media stored in the media buffer.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a media buffer controller configured to selectively retrieve the media stored in the media buffer in response to the received conversation control information.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management element provides a plurality of rendering options for rendering the media of the conversation on the first communication device, the plurality of rendering options including one or more of the following:

(i) play normal;

(ii) skip silences;

(iii) pause;

(iv) replay;

(v) play faster;

(vi) play slower;

(vii) jump backward;

(viii) jump forward;

(iix) catch up to the most recently received media;

or

(ix) jump to the most recently received media.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management element provides a plurality of management options to manage conversations conducted using the first communication device, the plurality of management options including one or more of the following:

(i). create the conversation including a conversation name and a list of participants in the conversation;

(ii) update the details of the conversation by adding or deleting one or more participants to the conversation;

(iii) view the details of the conversation including the start time and the status of the participants of the conversation;

(iv) delete the conversation;

or

(v) close the conversation.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management element provides options to manage participation in the conversation at the first communication device, the options including one or more of the following:

(i) starting the conversation;

(ii) providing a notification that attention to the conversation is requested;

(iii) providing the status of the conversation;

or

(iv) pausing the conversation.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management element provides a plurality of options for managing contacts, the plurality of options for managing contacts including one or more of the following:

(i) add a contact;

(ii) edit the contact;

(iii) delete the contact;

(iv) search for the contact;

(v) create a group of contacts;

(vi) edit the group of contacts;

(vii) delete the group of contacts;

or

(viii) search for the contact or group of contacts by name or number.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversation management element further provides the first communication device with the ability to participate in multiple conversations.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the conversation management element further provides the ability for the first communication device to participate in the multiple conversations by receiving selection instructions to participate in a selected one conversation among the multiple conversations.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the conversation management element further provides the ability for the first communication device to participate in the multiple conversations by consecutively rendering the media of the multiple conversations using a sequencing order defined by a priority hierarchy.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the conversation management element further comprises the ability for the first communication device to participate in the multiple conversations simultaneously by causing the media of the multiple conversations to be simultaneously rendered on the first communication device as the media becomes available.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a conversation management device configured to enable a user of the first communication device to communicate with the gateway node and to provide the conversation control information to the gateway node.

22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first communication device comprises one of the following:

a computer, a telephone, a mobile phone, a satellite phone, or a radio.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the conversation management device and the first communication device are the same device.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the conversation management device and the first communication device are different devices.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the conversation management device is used to manage one or more conversations on multiple first communication devices.

26. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication network comprises one of the following:

(i) a PSTN;

(ii) a mobile phone network;

(iii) a VoIP network;

(iv) a radio network;

(v) a satellite network;

or

(v) any combination of (i) through (v).

27. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the interface is a private branch exchange.

28. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the interface is a private branch exchange and the gateway node is embedded in the private branch exchange.

29. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication network is a radio communication network and the interface is a radio repeater.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the radio communication network comprises one of the following:

(i) a police radio network;

(ii) a fire-fighter radio network;

(iii) a first responder radio network;

(iv) a military radio network;

(v) a taxi radio network;

(vi) a fleet radio network;

or

(vii) any combination of (i) through (vi).

31. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the media comprises one or more of the following types of media:

voice, video, text, sensor data, radio signals, position or GPS information, or a combination thereof.

32. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the conversation management device is a browser enabled computing device that communicates with the gateway node through the browser.

33. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the conversation management device is a computing device configured to execute an application that communicates with the gateway node.

34. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gateway node receives the media of the conversation and the conversation control information over separate paths.

35. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gateway node receives the media of the conversation and the conversation control information over the same path.

36. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a translator configured to perform a translation on the conversation control information between the formats used by the gateway node and a path used to provide the conversation control information to the gateway node.

37. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a converter configured to perform translations between a signal domain and a packet domain.

38. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a translator configured to perform a translation of the media of the conversation between formats used by the gateway node and on the communication network.

39. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the interface is a web server and the first communication device is a computer running a browser and communicating with the web server through the browser.

40. A method, comprising:

progressively receiving at a gateway node, over a communication network and through an interface between the gateway node and the communication network, media of a conversation between a first communication device and one or more other communication devices;

progressively storing in a media buffer at the gateway node the media of the conversation as the media is progressively received over the communication network;

controlling at the gateway node the rendering of the media of the conversation for the first communication device in response to conversation control information received at the gateway node so that the media of the conversation is selectively rendered at the first communication device by;

(i) progressively forwarding the media of the conversation to the first communication device as the media is progressively received over the communication network from the one or more communication devices and progressively stored in the media buffer; and

(ii) retrieving from the media buffer and progressively forwarding the retrieved media to the first communication device at a selected point in time after the media was progressively received and stored so that the media can be rendered in a time-shifted mode; and

translating the media of the conversation, as needed, between formats used by the gateway node and on the communication network.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising selectively and progressively transmitting the media of the conversation as the media is created using the first communication device to the one or more other communication devices either:

(i) in near real-time as the media is received at the gateway node from the first communication device; and

(ii) at a selected point in time after the media was received at the gateway node,

the media progressively transmitted in accordance with either (i) and (ii) in response to conversation control information received from the one or more other communication devices respectively.

42. The method of claim 40, further comprising facilitating a user of the first communication device to provide the conversation control information to the gateway node through a user interface.

43. The method of claim 40, wherein the conversation control information comprises one or more of the following:

(i) DTMF signals;

(ii) data generated by an application executed on a computer;

(iii) data generated through a browser application running on a computer;

(iv) voice commands;

(iv) radio signals;

or

(v) any combination of (i) through (v).

44. The method of claim 40, further providing to the first communication device conversation related information, the conversation related information including one or more of the following:

(i) participants in the conversation;

(ii) the status of each of the participants in the conversation;

(iii) the time the media of the conversation is created;

(iv) the date the media of the conversation is created;

(v) the communication device which created the media;

or

(iv) interrupts or other alerts.

45. The method of claim 40, further comprising storing conversational information pertaining to the conversation in a conversation database accessible by the gateway node.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the conversational information pertains to one or more of the following:

participants of the conversation;

contact information for the participants;

presence information of the participants;

status information of the participants; and

position of the participants with respect to the head of the conversation.

47. The method of claim 40, further comprising progressively storing in the media buffer:

(i) the media generated using the first communication device pertaining to the conversation as the media is created and progressively transmitted; and

(ii) the media received over the communication network from the one or more other communication devices participating in the conversation as the media is created and progressively transmitted.

48. The method of claim 40, further comprising progressively storing the media of the conversation in the media buffer in a time-indexed format.

49. The method of claim 40, further comprising persistently storing the media of the conversation in the media buffer.

50. The method of claim 40, further comprising archiving the media stored in the media buffer.

51. The method of claim 47, further comprising selectively retrieving the media stored in the media buffer in response to received conversation control information.

52. The method of claim 40, further comprising providing a plurality of rendering options for rendering the media of the conversation on the first communication device, the plurality of rendering options including one or more of the following:

(i) play normal;

(ii) skip silences;

(iii) pause;

(iv) replay;

(v) play faster;

(vi) play slower;

(vii) jump backward;

(viii) jump forward;

(iix) catch up to the most recently received media;

or

(ix) jump to the most recently received media.

53. The method of claim 40, further comprising providing a plurality of management options to manage conversations conducted using the first communication device, the plurality of management options including one or more of the following:

(i) creating the conversation including a conversation name and a list of participants in the conversation;

(ii) updating the details of the conversation by adding or deleting one or more participants to the conversation;

(iii) viewing the details of the conversation including the start time and the status of the participants of the conversation;

(iv) deleting the conversation;

or

(v) closing the conversation.

54. The method of claim 40, further comprising providing options to manage participation in the conversation at the first communication device, the options including one or more of the following:

(i) starting the conversation;

(ii) providing a notification that attention to the conversation is requested;

(iii) providing the status of the conversation;

or

(iv) pausing the conversation.

55. The method of claim 40, further comprising providing a plurality of options for managing contacts, the plurality of options for managing contacts including one or more of the following:

(i) add a contact;

(ii) edit the contact;

(iii) delete the contact;

(iv) search for the contact;

(v) create a group of contacts;

(vi) edit the group of contacts;

(vii) delete the group of contacts;

or

(viii) search for the contact or group of contacts by name or number.

56. The method of claim 40, further comprising providing the first communication device with the ability to participate in multiple conversations.

57. The method of claim 56, further comprising providing the ability for the first communication device to participate in the multiple conversations by receiving selection instructions to participate in a selected one conversation among the multiple conversations.

58. The method of claim 56, further comprising providing the ability for the first communication device to participate in the multiple conversations by consecutively rendering the media of the multiple conversations using a sequencing order defined by a priority hierarchy.

59. The method of claim 56, further comprising providing the ability for the first communication device to participate in the multiple conversations simultaneously by causing the media of the multiple conversations to be simultaneously rendered on the first communication device as the media becomes available.

60. The method of claim 40, further enabling a user of the first communication device to communicate with the gateway node and provide conversation control information to the gateway node.

61. The method of claim 40, wherein the first communication device comprises one of the following:

a computer, a telephone, a mobile phone, a satellite phone, or a radio.

62. The method of claim 40, wherein the communication network comprises one of the following:

(i) a PSTN;

(ii) a mobile phone network;

(iii) a VoIP network;

(iv) a radio network;

(v) a satellite network;

or

(vi) any combination of (i) through (v).

63. The method of claim 40, wherein the interface is a private branch exchange.

64. The method of claim 63, further comprising embedding the gateway node into the private branch exchange.

65. The method of claim 40, wherein the communication network is a radio communication network and the interface is a radio repeater.

66. The method of claim 65, wherein the radio communication network comprises one of the following:

(i) a police radio network;

(ii) a fire-fighter radio network;

(iii) a first responder radio network;

(iv) a military radio network;

(v) a taxi radio network;

(vi) a fleet radio network;

or

(vii) any combination of (i) through (vi).

67. The method of claim 40, wherein the media comprises one or more of the following types of media:

voice, video, text, sensor data, radio signals, position or GPS information, or a combination thereof.

68. The method of claim 40, further comprising providing a web server and enabling a user of the first communication device to provide the conversation control information through the web server.

69. The method of claim 40, further comprising providing an application intended to run on a programmable communication device that enables a user of the first communication device to provide the conversation control information for participating in the conversation to the gateway server.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein the programmable communication device and the first communication device are:

(a) the same device;

or

(b) different devices.

71. The method of claim 40, further comprising receiving at the gateway node the media of the conversation and the conversation control information over different paths.

72. The method of claim 40, further comprising receiving at the gateway node the media of the conversation and the conversation control information over the same path.

73. The method of claim 40, further comprising translating the media of the conversation between a signal domain and a packet domain.

74. The method of claim 40, further comprising translating the media of the conversation between formats used by the gateway node and on the communication network.

75. The method of claim 40, wherein the interface is a web server and the first communication device is a computer running a browser and communicating with the web server through the browser.