System and methods for multi-participant teleconferencing using preferred forms of telecommunication

• US 9,083,771 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2012
• Issued: 07/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: iBasis Incorporated (Tofane Global SAS)
• Original Assignee: iBasis Incorporated (Tofane Global SAS)
• Inventors: Yurchenko, Vitaliy
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Hemant
• Application Number:
  US13/529,739
• Publication Number:
  US 20130342635A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,118 Days
• Field of Search: 348 1401- 1416, 370259-271, 370351-357, 709201-207, 709217-248, 379/201.01, 37920201-20701
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1046 Call controllers; Call servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems

Abstract

A multi-participant teleconferencing system includes a telecommunication manager that is configured to establish telecommunication connections with participants by instructing and initiating one or more telecommunication devices (e.g., media gateway devices, email servers, web servers, multipoint control units, etc.). Participants can be enabled to provide personal preferences to the telecommunication manager. The personal preferences and other participant information can be stored on one or more storage devices as participant records. The participant records preferably include preferred forms of telecommunication for the participants. Each preferred form of telecommunication can include an indication of a preferred type of telecommunication device and/or an indication of a preferred telecommunication technology. The telecommunication manager can utilize the preferred forms of telecommunication stored on the one or more storage devices to schedule, manage, and initiate multi-participant telecommunication.

Claims

1. A system for initiating a telecommunication connection between two or more participants, comprising:

a telecommunication manager configured in such a way as to manage selection of a form of telecommunication for each of the two or more participants when the telecommunication connection is desired between a plurality of telecommunication devices operable by the two or more participants; and

a plurality of participant records stored on one or more storage devices, the one or more storage devices in communication with the telecommunication manager and each of the plurality of participant records comprising at least one participant identifier each for identifying a respective participant of the two or more participants as being associated with a respective participant record of the plurality of participant records;

wherein each of the plurality of participant records includes indications of a preferred form of telecommunication for the respective participant associated with the respective participant record of the plurality of participant records when the telecommunication connection is desired;

wherein at least one respective participant of the two or more participants is associated with their own respective participant record of the plurality of participant records identified by the at least one participant identifier;

wherein when the telecommunication connection is desired by a first of the two or more participants, the telecommunication manager manages connection of the first of the two or more participants and each of a remainder of the two or more participants based on respective participant records associated with the first of the two or more participants and the remainder of the two or more participants;

wherein the preferred form of telecommunication for each of the remainder of the two or more participants is determined by the telecommunication manager searching the respective participant records associated with each of the two or more participants;

wherein a participant record associated with at least one of the remainder of the two or more participants indicates a different preferred form of telecommunication than a first participant record associated with the first of the two or more participants; and

wherein when only one participant of the remainder of the two or more participants has indicated the preferred form of telecommunication prior to initiation of the telecommunication connection, others of the remainder of the two or more participants are contacted by the system upon the initiation of the telecommunication connection without having previously indicated a preferred form of telecommunication.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a presence server in communication with the telecommunication manager, wherein the presence server manages information regarding availability, capability, and desirability of participants to communicate.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a third party call control server in communication with the telecommunication manager, wherein the third party call control server is configured to set up and manage the telecommunication connection between the two or more participants.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a video conferencing server in communication with the telecommunication manager, wherein the video conferencing server is configured to interconnect a plurality of video conference telecommunication connections.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the telecommunication connection is configurable between multiple different telecommunication devices contemporaneously.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the multiple different telecommunication devices comprise one or more of telephones, mobile phones, internet phones, computers, smart phones, tablets, personal video units, or video phones.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the telecommunication manager is configured to cause the two or more participants to be provided with a hyperlink clickable to initiate the telecommunication connection.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the indication of the preferred form of telecommunication comprises telephone, VOIP, video conference, computer, text message, instant message, or shared screen or desktop.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the preferred form of telecommunication comprises a selection of one or more of device, telecommunication technology, event trigger, or time trigger.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the telecommunication connection occurs utilizing two or more of a telephone, a mobile device, a computer, a video device, an analog device, a digital device, a messaging device, an email device, a VOIP device, a chat device, an electronic presence device, a virtual presence device, or any combination thereof.

11. A method of initiating a telecommunication connection between two or more participants, comprising:

a telecommunication manager initiating a telecommunication by causing, using at least one processor, a request to be sent to each of the two or more participants based on information obtained from a plurality of participant records stored in one or more data storage devices, each participant record of the plurality of participant records comprising at least one participant identifier for identifying a participant of the two or more participants as being associated with a respective participant record of the plurality of participant records;

wherein each of the plurality of participant records includes indications of a preferred form of telecommunication for the respective participant associated with the respective participant record of the plurality of participant records;

wherein at least one respective participant of the two or more participants is associated with their own respective participant record of the plurality of participant records identified by the at least one participant identifier;

the telecommunication manager receiving, through at least one input device, responses to the request from at least one of the two or more participants, the responses being in the form of a telecommunication request to establish the telecommunication connection between the two or more participants;

wherein when only one participant of the two or more participants has indicated the preferred form of telecommunication prior to initiation of the telecommunication connection, others of the two or more participants are contacted by the system upon the initiation of the telecommunication connection without having previously indicated a preferred form of telecommunication;

wherein when the telecommunication connection couples together each of the two or more participants, forms of telecommunication are selected by the telecommunication manager according to the preferred form of telecommunication as indicated by each of the plurality of participant records associated with each of the two or more participants; and

wherein a preferred form of telecommunication for a first participant of the two or more participants is selected by the telecommunication manager according to the preferred form of telecommunication as indicated by a first of the at least two of the plurality of participant records associated with the first participant and another preferred form of telecommunication for a second participant of the two or more participants is selected by the telecommunication manager according to the preferred form of telecommunication as indicated by a second of the plurality of participant records associated with the second participant.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising a presence server managing information regarding availability, capability, and desirability of participants to communicate, the presence server being in communication with the telecommunication manager.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising a third party call control server setting up and managing the telecommunication connection between the two or more participants, the third party call control server being in communication with the telecommunication manager.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising a video conferencing server interconnecting a plurality of video conference telecommunication connections, the video conferencing server being in communication with the telecommunication manager.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the telecommunication connection is configurable between multiple different telecommunication devices contemporaneously.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the multiple different telecommunication devices comprise one or more of telephones, mobile phones, internee phones, computers, smart phones, tablets, personal video units, or video phones.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the telecommunication manager causes the two or more participants to be provided with a hyperlink clickable to initiate the telecommunication connection.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the preferred form of telecommunication comprises a selection of one or more of device, telecommunication technology, event trigger, or time trigger.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein causing the request to be sent to each of the two or more participants comprises causing a telecommunication invitation to be sent to each of the two or more participants, wherein for at least one of the two or more participants the telecommunication invitation is specific to a preferred form of telecommunication indicated in one of the plurality of participant records.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving from one of the two or more participants, through at least one input device, a teleconference request to initiate or schedule a teleconference between the two or more participants, wherein the step of initiating the telecommunication is based on the step of receiving the teleconference request.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the telecommunication manager causing, using at least one processor, a notification of the requested teleconference to be sent to each of the two or more participants prior to the step of initiating the telecommunication.

22. The method of claim 11, wherein causing the request to be sent to each of the two or more participants comprises accessing one or more remote storage devices in real time to obtain contact information enabling at least one of the two or more participants to be contacted using a preferred form of telecommunication as indicated in one of the plurality of participant records.