Pairing devices in conference using ultrasonic beacon

• US 9,024,998 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2011
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Pollycom Incorporated
• Inventors: Chu, Peter L., Liu, Yibo
• Primary Examiner(s): Anwah, Olisa
• Application Number:
  US13/282,609
• Publication Number:
  US 20130106977A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: 348/14.01, 348/14.02, 348/14.03, 348/14.04, 348/14.05, 348/14.08
• US Class Current: 348/14.04
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• 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 7/142 Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

A videoconferencing system has a videoconferencing unit that use portable devices as peripherals for the system. The portable devices obtain near-end audio and send the audio to the videoconferencing unit via a wireless connection. In turn, the videoconferencing unit sends the near-end audio from the loudest portable device along with near-end video to the far-end. The portable devices can control the videoconferencing unit and can initially establish the videoconference by connecting with the far-end and then transferring operations to the videoconferencing unit. To deal with acoustic coupling between the unit'"'"'s loudspeaker and the portable device'"'"'s microphone, the unit uses an echo canceller that is compensated for differences in the clocks used in the A/D and D/A converters of the loudspeaker and microphone.

Claims

1. A conferencing method, comprising:

conducting a conference with a first device in a near-end environment by sending first audio captured in the near-end environment to a far-end via a far-end connection and having far-end audio from the far-end output in the near-end environment;

repeatedly outputting connection information in an imperceptible acoustic beacon in the near-end environment with the first device while the first device conducts the conference;

connecting the first device via a near-end connection with a second device in the near-end environment based on the second device responding to the output connection information while the first device conducts the conference;

obtaining, at the first device via the near-end connection, second audio captured with the second device in the near-end environment even while the imperceptible acoustic beacon is repeatedly output in the near-end environment with the first device; and

sending the second audio to the far-end with the first device via the far-end connection.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device comprises a videoconferencing unit;

and wherein the second device is selected from the group consisting of a portable device, a peripheral device, a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a personal computing tablet, a personal digital assistant, a hand-held computer, a netbook computer, and a laptop computer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the far-end connection comprises an Ethernet connection, a Wide Area Network (WAN) connection, a wireless connection, an Internet connection, a cellular connection, a Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) connection, or a combination thereof;

and wherein the near-end connection comprises a Local Area Network (LAN) connection, an intranet connection, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) connection, a Personal Area Network (PAN) connection, a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) connection, a wireless connection, or a combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the connection information comprises encoding the connection information in an audio signal modulated with frequency-shift keying.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the connection information comprises an Internet Protocol address of the first device encoded in the acoustic beacon.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the connection information in the acoustic beacon with the first device comprises outputting the acoustic beacon with a loudspeaker of the first device, the acoustic beacon being ultrasonic.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein connecting the first device via the near-end connection with the second device based on the second device responding to the output connection information comprises receiving a response at the first device from the second device via the near-end connection, the response requesting connection of the second device with the first device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the second audio to the far-end via the far-end connection comprises sending the second audio only when the second audio has a greater level than the first audio.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

sending first video captured with the first device to the far-end via the far-end connection;

obtaining, at the first device via the near-end connection, second video captured with the second device; and

sending the second video to the far-end with the first device via the far-end connection when the second audio is being sent to the far-end.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining, at the first device via the near-end connection, content residing at the second device; and

incorporating the obtained content into the videoconference.

11. A programmable storage device having program instructions stored thereon for causing a programmable control device to perform a conferencing method comprising:

conducting a conference with a first device in a near-end environment by sending first audio captured in the near-end environment to a far-end via a far-end connection and having far-end audio from the far-end output in the near-end environment;

repeatedly outputting connection information in an imperceptible acoustic beacon in the near-end environment with the first device while the first device conducts the conference;

connecting the first device via a near-end connection with a second device in the near-end environment based on the second device responding to the output connection information while the first device conducts the conference;

obtaining, at the first device via the near-end connection, second audio captured with the second device in the near-end environment even while the imperceptible acoustic beacon is repeatedly output in the near-end environment with the first device; and

sending the second audio to the far-end with the first device via the far-end connection.

12. A first device in a near-end environment conducting a conference with a far-end, the first device comprising:

a microphone for capturing audio in the near-end environment;

a loudspeaker for outputting audio in the near-end environment;

one or more interfaces for communicatively connecting to a second device in the near-end environment and for communicatively connecting to the far-end; and

a processing unit communicatively connected to the microphone, the loudspeaker, and the one or more interfaces, the processing unit configured to;

send first audio captured in the near-end environment to the far-end via a far-end connection;

repeatedly output connection information in an imperceptible acoustic beacon in the near-end environment with the loudspeaker while the first device conducts the conference;

connect to the second device in a near-end connection based on the second device in the near-end environment responding to the output connection information;

obtain via the near-end connection second audio captured with the second device in the near-end environment even while the imperceptible acoustic beacon is repeatedly output in the near-end environment with the first device; and

send the second audio to the far-end via the far-end connection.

13. The first device of claim 12, further comprising a camera for capturing video, wherein the processing unit is configured to:

send first video captured with the camera to the far-end via the far-end connection;

obtain via the near-end connection second video captured with the second device; and

send the second video to the far-end via the far-end connection when the second audio is being sent to the far-end.

14. The first device of claim 12, wherein the processing unit is configured to:

obtain via the near-end connection content residing at the second device; and

incorporate the obtained content into the videoconference.

15. A conferencing method, comprising:

detecting, with a first device in a near-end environment, an imperceptible acoustic beacon repeatedly output by a second device while the second device conducts a conference in the near-end environment;

decoding, with the first device, connection information from the detected acoustic beacon;

connecting the first device with the second device via a network connection using the decoded connection information; and

transmitting audio captured with the first device in the near-end environment to the second device via the network connection even while the imperceptible acoustic beacon is repeatedly output in the near-end environment by the second device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising transmitting video captured with the first device to the second device via the network connection.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising transmitting content residing at the first device to the second device via the network connection.

18. A programmable storage device having program instructions stored thereon for causing a programmable control device to perform a method, comprising;

detecting, with a first device in a near-end environment, an imperceptible acoustic beacon repeatedly output by a second device while the second device conducts a conference in the near-end environment;

decoding, with the first device, connection information from the detected acoustic beacon;

connecting the first device with the second device via a network connection using the decoded connection information; and

transmitting audio captured with the first device in the near-end environment to the second device via the network connection even while the imperceptible acoustic beacon is repeatedly output in the near-end environment by the second device.

19. A first device in a near-end environment with a second device conducting a conference with a far-end, the first device comprising:

a microphone for capturing audio in the near-end environment;

an interface for communicatively connecting to the second device in the near-end environment via a network connection; and

a processing unit communicatively connected to the microphone and the interface, the processing unit configured to;

detect, with the microphone, an imperceptible acoustic beacon repeatedly output by the second device while the second device conducts the conference,

decode connection information from the detected acoustic beacon,

connect to the second device via the network connection based on the decoded connection information while the second device conducts the conference, and

transmit audio captured with the microphone to the second device via the network connection even while the imperceptible acoustic beacon is repeatedly output in the near-end environment by the second device.

20. The first device of claim 19, further comprising a camera for capturing video, the processing unit communicatively connected to the camera and configured to transmit video captured with the camera to the second device via the network connection.

21. A conferencing method, comprising:

sending first audio captured with a first device to a far-end via a far-end connection;

outputting connection information in an acoustic beacon with the first device;

connecting the first device via a near-end connection with a second device based on the second device responding to the output connection information;

obtaining, at the first device via the near-end connection, second audio captured with the second device; and

sending the second audio to the far-end with the first device via the far-end connection only when the second audio has a greater level than the first audio.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein outputting the connection information comprises encoding the connection information in an audio signal modulated with frequency-shift keying.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the connection information comprises an Internet Protocol address of the first device encoded in the acoustic beacon.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein outputting the connection information in the acoustic beacon with the first device comprises outputting the acoustic beacon with a loudspeaker of the first device, the acoustic beacon being ultrasonic.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein connecting the first device via the near-end connection with the second device based on the second device responding to the output connection information comprises receiving a response at the first device from the second device via the near-end connection, the response requesting connection of the second device with the first device.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

sending first video captured with the first device to the far-end via the far-end connection;

obtaining, at the first device via the near-end connection, second video captured with the second device; and

sending the second video to the far-end with the first device via the far-end connection when the second audio is being sent to the far-end.

27. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

obtaining, at the first device via the near-end connection, content residing at the second device; and

incorporating the obtained content into the videoconference.