Making calls using an additional terminal

• US 9,019,336 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2012
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Skype S.Ã R.L. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Lindblom, Jonas, Suutari, Teemu
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah, Melur
• Application Number:
  US13/710,041
• Publication Number:
  US 20130169736A1
• Time in Patent Office: 869 Days
• Field of Search: 348 1401- 1416, 370260-261
• US Class Current: 348/14.02
• 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 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2535 adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network equipment and services H04M7/006; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5045 Selection of bridge/multipoint control unit network arrangements for computer conference optimisation H04L12/1827
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/568 audio processing specific to telephonic conferencing, e.g. spatial distribution, mixing of participants echo suppression in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/02; sound field processing per se H04S7/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/141 between two video terminals, e.g. videophone telephonic communication systems combined with television receiver for reception of entertainment or information matter H04M11/085

Abstract

A first terminal is coupled to a wide-area packet-based network and installed with first client application. One or more second terminals are coupled to the first terminal via a local wireless link, and each installed with an instance of a lightweight sub-client having reduced functionality relative to the first client. The first client establishes a call with a remote, third terminal over the network, based on a user credential identifying the first client. Each second terminal generates an audio or video stream, and each sub-client transmits the respective stream to the first client over the local wireless link for use in the call. The first client switches between a second state in which the call uses the streams from the sub-clients and a first state in which the call uses a stream generated by the first terminal without the streams from the sub-clients.

Claims

1. An arrangement comprising:

a first terminal coupled to a wide-area packet-based communication network and installed with a mixer client application for performing a voice or video call using a packet-based communication system implemented over the packet-based network;

a plurality of second terminals coupled to the first terminal via a local wireless link, each installed with a respective instance of a lightweight sub-client for participating in said call via the mixer client but having reduced functionality relative to the mixer client;

wherein the mixer client is configured to establish the call with a remote, third terminal over the packet-based network using said packet-based communication system, based on a user credential identifying the mixer client as an endpoint of the call within the packet-based communication system from the perspective of the third terminal;

each of the second terminals is operable to simultaneously generate a respective audio and/or video stream each associated with a different respective near-end user, and each respective sub-client is configured to transmit the respective stream to the mixer client over the local wireless link, to be used in the call established by the mixer client under identification by said user credential; and

the mixer client is configured to switch between a multi-terminal state of operation in which the call uses the streams received from the sub-clients and a same-terminal state of operation in which the call uses a stream generated by the first terminal without the streams from the sub-clients, and in said multi-terminal state of operation to mix the simultaneous streams received from the sub-clients at the first terminal, to encode the mixed stream at the first terminal, and to transmit the mixed stream to the third terminal as part of said call over the packet-based communication system under identification by said user credential, wherein the reduced functionality of the lightweight sub-client comprises being configured only to communicate on the local wireless link and not using the packet-based communication system implemented over said packet-based communication network, and using only a reduced compression of the audio and/or video stream sent to the mixer client over the local link, relative to compression used by the mixer client to compress the mixed stream to the third terminal over the packet-based communication system.

2. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the reduced functionality further comprises one or more of:

the sub-client is an input-only client configured only to receive an input audio and/or video stream for transmission to the third terminal via the mixer client on the first terminal and not to play out an output audio and/or video stream of said call, whilst in both the multi-terminal and single-terminal states of operation the mixer client is configured to play out at the first terminal an output audio and/or video stream of said call received from the third terminal;

the sub-client is not configured with a call set-up protocol for establishing a call using said packet-based communication system, whereas the mixer client is configured with a call set-up protocol for establishing said call;

the sub-client is not configured to take user credentials of the packet-based communication system and so the near-end user does not log in to the sub-client using credentials of the packet-based communication system;

the sub-client does not encode the audio and/or video stream so as to compress it when sent to the mixer client over the local link, whilst the mixer client does encode the mixed stream so as to compress it when transmitted to the third terminal over the packet-based communication system;

and

the sub-client does not encrypt the audio and/or video stream sent to the mixer client over the local link, whilst the mixer client does encrypt the mixed stream transmitted to the third terminal over the packet-based communication system.

3. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the mixer client is configured to detect the presence of one or more instances of the sub-clients on the local link, and to switch between said states in dependence on said detection.

4. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the mixer client is configured to detect the stream incoming from one or more of the sub-clients on the local link, and to switch between said states in dependence on said detection.

5. The arrangement of claim 3, wherein the switching in dependence on the detection comprises presenting a near-end user with a user option at the first terminal to select the one or more sub-clients for use in the multi-terminal state of operation.

6. The arrangement of claim 3, wherein the switching in dependence on the detection comprises automatically switching between said states of operation.

7. The arrangement of claim 3, wherein the mixer client is configured to use the same-terminal state of operation as a default state in absence of the presence of the instances of the sub-client and/or in absence of the streams from the sub-clients.

8. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the mixer client is configured to mix the streams of a plurality of simultaneously active speakers from amongst said near-end users.

9. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the mixer client is configured to mix the streams by determining which of said plurality of simultaneous streams received from the sub-clients best represents an active speaker from amongst said near-end users, and selecting only the stream of the active speaker to be transmitted to the third terminal as part of said call.

10. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the mixer client is a master client configured to establish said call using a call set-up protocol implemented at the mixer client.

11. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein a further client is installed on a server, and the mixer client is configured to act as a relay to mix the streams at the first terminal and establish the call via a call-set-up protocol implemented at the further client.

12. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the first terminal is one of a monitor with embedded processor, a television set, and a set-top box for connection to a monitor television set.

13. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more second terminals is one of a laptop, tablet and a mobile phone.

14. The arrangement claim 1, wherein the local wireless link is a local wireless network.

15. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the packet-based communication network is the Internet.

16. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the communication system is a VoIP system.

17. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the local wireless link comprises a Wi-Fi link.

18. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the local wireless link comprises a Bluetooth link.

19. A mixer client application comprising code embodied on a computer-readable storage medium and configured so as when executed on a first terminal to:

operate the first terminal to establish the call with a remote, third terminal using a packet-based communication system implemented over a wide-area packet-based communication network, based on a user credential identifying the mixer client as an endpoint of the call within the packet-based communication system from the perspective of the third terminal;

simultaneously receive over a local wireless link a respective audio and/or video stream each associated with a different respective near-end user a plurality of second terminals coupled to the first terminal via a local wireless link, each from a respective instance of a lightweight sub-client running on a respective second terminal having reduced functionality relative to the mixer client;

switch between a multi-terminal state of operation in which the call uses the streams received from the sub-clients and a same-terminal state of operation in which the call uses a stream generated by the first terminal without the streams from the sub-clients; and

in said multi-terminal state of operation, mix the simultaneous streams received from the sub-clients at the first terminal, to encode the mixed stream at the first terminal, and transmit the mixed stream to the third terminal as part of said call over the packet-based communication system under identification by said user credential, wherein the reduced functionality of the sub-client comprises being configured only to communicate on the local wireless link and not using the packet-based communication system implemented over said packet-based communication network, and using only a reduced compression of the audio and/or video stream sent to the mixer client over the local link, relative to compression used by the mixer client to compress the mixed stream to the third terminal over the packet-based communication system.

20. A sub-client application for participating in a call via a first client on a first terminal but having reduced functionality relative to the first client, the sub-client comprising code embodied on a computer-readable storage medium and configured so as when executed on a second terminal to:

generate a respective audio and/or video stream associated with a respective near-end user; and

transmit the respective stream to the first client over a local wireless link, to be used in a call established by the first client with a remote, third terminal using a packet-based communication system implemented over a wide-area packet-based communication network based on a user credential identifying the first client as an endpoint of the call within the packet-based communication system from the perspective of the third terminal;

thereby participating in the call via the first client, in which the first client is enabled by said generation and transmission of said stream to switch between a second state of operation in which the call uses the one or more stream received from one or more sub-clients, including at least the stream from said sub client, and a first state of operation in which the call uses a stream generated by the first terminal without the streams from the sub-clients, wherein in said second state of operation the first client encodes the one or more streams from the one or more sub-clients into an encoded stream at the first terminal and transmits the encoded stream to the third terminal as part of said call over the packet-based communication system under identification by said user credential, wherein the reduced functionality of the sub-client comprises being configured only to communicate on the local wireless link and not using the packet-based communication system implemented over said packet-based communication network, and using only a reduced compression of the audio and/or video stream sent to the mixer client over the local link, relative to compression used by the mixer client to compress the mixed stream to the third terminal over the packet-based communication system.