System, method and multipoint control unit for providing multi-language conference

• US 9,031,849 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2009
• Issued: 05/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Liu, Zhihui, Yue, Zhonghui
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Paras D
• Application Number:
  US12/413,008
• Publication Number:
  US 20090187400A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,237 Days
• Field of Search: 704 2- 8, 704/270, 704/270.1, 704/277, 704/275, 379/2.01, 379 8801- 8816, 455/416, 434/350
• US Class Current: 704/277
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2061 Language aspects
• 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: H04N 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

A system for providing multi-language conference is provided. The system includes conference terminals and a multipoint control unit. The conference terminals are adapted to process a speech of a conference site, transmitting the processed speech to the multipoint control unit, process an audio data received from the multipoint control unit and output it. At least one of the conference terminals is an interpreting terminal adapted to interpret the speech of the conference according to the audio data transmitted from the multipoint control unit, process the interpreted audio data and output the processed audio data. The multipoint control unit is adapted to perform a sound mixing process of the audio data from the conference terminals in different sound channels according to language types, and then sends mixed audio data after the sound mixing process to the conference terminals.

Claims

1. A method for providing a multi-language conference in a multipoint control unit, where each conference site of the multi-language conference uses a selected language to participate in the multi-language conference, the method comprising:

receiving first audio data from a first conference terminal, wherein the first conference terminal is assigned a first language type;

receiving second audio data from a second conference terminal, wherein the second conference terminal is assigned a second language type, wherein the second language type is different from the first language type;

decoding the first audio data;

decoding the second audio data;

sending the decoded first audio data to a first language type sound mixer according to the language type of the first conference terminal;

sending the decoded second audio data to a second language type sound mixer according to the language type of the second conference terminal;

selecting the decoded first audio data by determining that a volume of the decoded first audio data is higher than a volume of the decoded second audio data;

sending the decoded first audio data to an interpreting terminal;

receiving translated audio data of the decoded first audio data from the interpreting terminal; and

sending the translated audio data to the second language type sound mixer.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the language types of the conference terminals are assigned by the multipoint control unit.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the multipoint control unit is informed that the first conference terminal is assigned the first language type through signaling and the second conference terminal is assigned the second language type through signaling.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the multipoint control unit is informed that the first conference terminal is assigned the first language type according to an first language type identifier added in the first audio data and the second conference terminal is assigned the second language type according to an second language type identifier added in the second audio data.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first language type sound mixer compares audio data from different conference terminals and selects audio data from at least one conference terminal according to volume of the audio data from different conference to be broadcasted to other conference terminals assigned the first language type.

6. A computer program, for providing a multi-language conference in a multipoint control unit, where each conference site of the multi-language conference uses a selected language to participate in the multi-language conference, the computer program stored on a non-transitory computer readable memory further comprising computer executable instructions that when executed implement the following:

receiving first audio data from a first conference terminal, wherein the first conference terminal is assigned a first language type;

receiving second audio data from a second conference terminal, wherein the second conference terminal is assigned a second language type wherein the second language type is different from the first language type;

decoding the first audio data;

decoding the second audio data;

sending the decoded first audio data to a first language type sound mixer according to the language type of the first conference terminal;

sending the decoded second audio data to a second language type sound mixer according to the language type of the second conference terminal;

selecting the decoded first audio data by determining that a volume of the decoded first audio data is higher than a volume of the decoded second audio data;

sending the decoded first audio data to an interpreting terminal;

receiving translated audio data of the decoded first audio data from the interpreting terminal; and

sending the translated audio data to the second language type sound mixer.

7. The computer program product according to claim 6, wherein the language types of the conference terminals are assigned by the multipoint control unit.

8. The computer program product according to claim 6, wherein the multipoint control unit is informed that the first conference terminal is assigned the first language type through signaling and the second conference terminal is assigned the second language type through signaling.

9. The computer program product according to claim 6, wherein the multipoint control unit is informed that the first conference terminal is assigned the first language type according to an first language type identifier added in the first audio data and the second conference terminal is assigned the second language type according to an second language type identifier added in the second audio data.

10. The computer program product according to claim 6, wherein the first language type sound mixer compares audio data from different conference terminals and selects audio data from at least one conference terminal according to volume of the audio data from different conference to be broadcasted to other conference terminals assigned the first language type.