System and method for video communication on mobile devices

• US 9,615,056 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2011
• Issued: 04/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Krush Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: ooVoo LLC (Oovoo Holdings LLC)
• Inventors: Feng, Chang, Shiratzky, Asher, Elyashiv, Eyal
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUERTAS TORRES, AYESHA E
• Application Number:
  US13/024,700
• Publication Number:
  US 20120066596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,245 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/563 User guidance or feature selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/148 Interfacing a video terminal to a particular transmission medium, e.g. ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

A video teleconferencing system which allows a mobile device to conduct teleconferences over fixed and mobile packet networks with end points with other mobile devices or a personal computer. The mobile device includes a user interface that displays a video image associated with a first participant. A selectable user interface element corresponding to a second participant video image may be displayed on the user interface and in response to selection of the selectable user interface element, a video image associated with the second participant may be displayed.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having executable computer-readable program code embodied therein, the executable computer-readable program code for implementing a method for communication, the method comprising:

establishing a video conference over a wireless communications network between a first participant using a mobile communication device and at least one other participant;

displaying on a user interface of the mobile communication device a video image associated with the first participant; and

displaying on the user interface of the mobile communication device a first selectable user interface element wherein selection of the first selectable user interface element during the video conference causes the user interface of the mobile communication device to automatically display a second selectable user interface element corresponding to a video image associated with a second participant;

wherein selection of the second selectable user interface element during the video conference causes the user interface to automatically display only the video image associated with the second participant on the user interface of the mobile communication device.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the second selectable user interface element is a thumbnail image associated with the second participant.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2 wherein the thumbnail image of the second participant is periodically updated with images associated with the video image associated with the second participant.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the mobile communication device receives, from a server, video data packets having data corresponding to the video image associated with the first participant and decodes the received data packets to display on the user interface of the mobile communication device the video image associated with the first participant.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the video image associated with the first participant is captured at a second mobile communication device and the video image associated with the second participant is captured at a third mobile communication device.

6. A method for communication between a server and one or more mobile communication devices, the method comprising:

establishing a communication link for a video conference over a wireless communications network between a server, a first mobile communication device, a second communication device and a third communication device;

transmitting to the first mobile communication device participating in the video conference a video image associated with a first participant;

receiving at the server a request for transmission of a video image associated with a second participant;

transmitting to the first mobile communication device the video image associated with the second participant in response to receiving at the server the request for transmission of the video image associated with the second participant;

causing a user interface of the first mobile communication device to display the video image associated with the first participant;

causing the user interface of the first mobile communication device to display a first selectable user interface element wherein selection of the first selectable user interface element during the video conference causes the user interface of the first mobile communication device to automatically display a second selectable user interface element corresponding to a video image associated with a second participant;

transmitting to the first mobile communication device the video image associated with the second participant in response to selection of the second selectable user interface element;

causing the user interface of the first mobile communication device to display only the video image associated with the second participant.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the second selectable user interface element is a thumbnail image of the second participant.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the thumbnail image of the second participant is periodically updated with images associated with the second participant video image associated with the second participant.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the server receives the video image associated with the first participant from the second communication device and receives the video image associated with the second participant from the third communication device.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein the second communication device and the third communication device are mobile communication devices.

11. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of stopping transmission to the first mobile communication device of the video image associated with the first participant when the server receives a request for transmission of the video image associated with the second participant from the first mobile communication device.

12. The method of claim 6 wherein the wireless communications network comprises at least one of 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi networks.

13. The method of claim 6 wherein establishing a video conference over a wireless communications network comprises establishing a video conference over at least two wireless communications networks.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein establishing a video conference over at least two wireless communications networks happens in combination.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the wireless communications network comprises at least one of 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi networks.

16. The method of claim 6 wherein the wireless communications network comprises at least one of 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi networks.

17. The method of claim 6 wherein establishing a video conference over a wireless communications network comprises establishing a video conference over at least two wireless communications networks.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein establishing a video conference over at least two wireless communications networks happens in combination.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the wireless communications network comprises at least one of 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi networks.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having executable computer-readable program code embodied therein, the executable computer-readable program code for implementing a method for communication, the method comprising:

establishing a communication link for a video conference over a wireless communications network between a server, a first mobile communication device, a second communication device and a third communication device;

transmitting to the first mobile communication device participating in the video conference a video image associated with a first participant;

receiving at the server a request for transmission of a video image associated with a second participant;

transmitting to the first mobile communication device the video image associated with the second participant in response to receiving at the server the request for transmission of the video image associated with the second participant;

causing a user interface of the first mobile communication device to display the video image associated with the first participant;

causing the user interface of the first mobile communication device to display a first selectable user interface element wherein selection of the first selectable user interface element during the video conference causes the user interface of the first mobile communication device to automatically display a second selectable user interface element corresponding to a video image associated with a second participant;

transmitting to the first mobile communication device the video image associated with the second participant in response to selection of the second selectable user interface element;

causing the user interface of the first mobile communication device to display only the video image associated with the second participant.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20 wherein the second selectable user interface element is a thumbnail image of the second participant.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21 wherein the thumbnail image of the second participant is periodically updated with images associated with the second participant video image associated with the second participant.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20 wherein the server receives the video image associated with the first participant from the second communication device and receives the video image associated with the second participant from the third communication device.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20 wherein the second communication device and the third communication device are mobile communication devices.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20 wherein the wireless communications network comprises at least one of 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi networks.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20 wherein establishing a video conference over a wireless communications network comprises establishing a video conference over at least two wireless communications networks.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26 wherein establishing a video conference over at least two wireless communications networks happens in combination.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 27 wherein the wireless communications network comprises at least one of 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi networks.