Equitable electronic group communication session management using an ordered list to provide predetermined equal amount of exclusive time to each of the participants

• US 10,587,427 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2017
• Issued: 03/10/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Talking Stick, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Talking Stick, Inc.
• Inventors: Stoner, Theodore, Gauthier, Benjamin, Quattrocchi, Jacob, Eaton, Bryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Murray, Daniel C.
• Application Number:
  US15/487,948
• Publication Number:
  US 20170302466A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,061 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70

Abstract

Once a group communication such as a video conference has been initiated, embodiments of the present disclosure provide for equitably managing the conference so that each participant can be given a chance to speak or contribute. For example, and according to one embodiment, the participants can be placed into a rotating queue based upon the order in which they joined the conference. As the conference progresses, each participant can be allowed to speak, while the other participants are muted, for up to a predetermined amount of time. Once that time expires, or the speaker yields the remaining time, the next participant in the rotating queue can be allowed to speak for up to the same predetermined amount of time. This rotation can continue for up to a predetermined number of rotations, a predetermined amount of time for the conference, or until the participants otherwise end the conference.

Claims

1. A method for managing a group communication session, the method comprising:

receiving, by an application server from a client device of an originator of the group communication session, a request to initiate the group communication session;

identifying, by the application server, a plurality of participants in the group communication session based on the request;

inviting, by the application server, the plurality of participants to join the group communication session;

initiating, by the application server, the group communication session in response to receiving an acceptance message from a client device of at least one of the plurality of participants;

generating, by the application server, an ordered list, the ordered list comprising the originator of the communication session and the at least one of the plurality of participants, wherein generating the ordered list comprises inserting the originator between each of the plurality of participants in an order of the ordered list; and

managing, by the application server, the group communication session according to the order of the ordered list to provide a predetermined equal amount of exclusive time to each of the at least one of the plurality of participants, wherein the predetermined amount of time is set by the originator of the group communication session.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the order of the ordered list is based on when the acceptance message is received from a client device of each of the participants.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

muting, by the application server, the client device of the originator and the client device of each of the participants; and

unmuting, by the application server, a first client device based on the order of the ordered list.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising streaming media from the first client device to all participants in the group communication session for up to the predetermined equal amount of time.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a predetermined amount of time for the originator is greater than the predetermined equal amount of time for the participants.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising, in response to expiration of the predetermined equal amount of time for a participant associated with the first client device or receiving, by the application server, a user input from the first client device:

muting, by the application server, the first client device;

unmuting, by the application server, a second client device based on the order of the ordered list; and

streaming media from the second client device to all participants in the group communication session for up to the predetermined amount of time.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising continuing said muting, unmuting, and streaming based on the order of the ordered list for up to a predetermined number of rotations through the ordered list has been completed, a predetermined total time for the group communication session has expired, or all of the originator and participants exit the communication session.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the managing the group communication session further comprises providing the predetermined equal amount of exclusive time to each of the participants unless one of the participants requests or is indicated to be skipped, exits, or yields at least a portion of the exclusive time.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the application server, from at least one of the plurality of participants invited to join the group communication session a non-acceptance message; and

in response to the non-acceptance message, allowing, by the application server, a user associated with the non-acceptance message to be a spectator to the communication session, wherein the spectator can receive media of the communication session but is not identified in the ordered list of participants.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising, when a participant exits the communication session, inviting at least one spectator to join the communication session as a participant in the communication session.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising adding, by the application server, a virtual assistant to the ordered list.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the virtual assistant provides one or more suggested topics for the communication session or direction for the communication session based on one or more topics of the communication session.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when a participant to the communication session exits the communication session, adding the exiting participant as a spectator to the communication session, wherein the spectator can receive media of the communication session but is not identified in the ordered list of participants.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising, after the exiting participant has been added as a spectator to the communication session, allowing the exiting participant to re-join the communication session as a participant.

15. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled with and readable by the processor and having stored therein a set of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to manage a group communication by;

receiving, from a client device of an originator of the group communication session, a request to initiate the group communication session;

identifying a plurality of participants in the group communication session based on the request;

inviting the plurality of participants to join the group communication session;

initiating the group communication session in response to receiving an acceptance message from a client device of at least one of the plurality of participants;

generating an ordered list, the ordered list comprising the originator of the communication session and the at least one of the plurality of participants, wherein generating the ordered list comprises inserting the originator between each of the plurality of participants in an order of the ordered list; and

managing the group communication session according to the order of the ordered list to provide a predetermined equal amount of exclusive time to each of the at least one of the plurality of participants, wherein the predetermined amount of time is set by the originator of the group communication session.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the order of the ordered list is based on when the acceptance message is received from a client device of each of the participants.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising:

muting the client device of the originator and the client device of each of the participants; and

unmuting a first client device based on the order of the ordered list.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising streaming media from the first client device to all participants in the group communication session for up to the predetermined equal amount of time.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the predetermined amount of time for the originator is greater than the predetermined amount of time for the participants.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising, in response to expiration of the predetermined equal amount of time for a participant associated with the first client device or receiving, by the application server, a user input from the first client device:

muting the first client device;

unmuting a second client device based on the order of the ordered list; and

streaming media from the second client device to all participants in the group communication session for up to the predetermined amount of time.

21. The system of claim 20, further comprising continuing said muting, unmuting, and streaming based on the order of the ordered list for up to a predetermined number of rotations through the ordered list has been completed, a predetermined total time for the group communication session has expired, or all of the originator and participants exit the communication session.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein the managing the group communication session further comprises providing the predetermined equal amount of exclusive time to each of the participants unless one of the participants requests or is indicated to be skipped, exits, or yields at least a portion of the exclusive time.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a set of instructions stored therein which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to manage a group communication by:

identifying a plurality of participants in the group communication session based on the request;

inviting the plurality of participants to join the group communication session;

initiating the group communication session in response to receiving an acceptance message from a client device of at least one of the plurality of participants;

generating an ordered list, the ordered list comprising the originator of the communication session and the at least one of the plurality of participants, wherein generating the ordered list comprises inserting the originator between each of the plurality of participants in an order of the ordered list; and

managing the group communication session according to the order of the ordered list to provide a predetermined equal amount of exclusive time to each of the at least one of the plurality of participants, wherein the predetermined amount of time is set by the originator of the group communication session.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the order of the ordered list is based on when the acceptance message is received from a client device of each of the participants.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24, further comprising:

muting the client device of the originator and the client device of each of the participants; and

unmuting a first client device based on the order of the ordered list.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, further comprising streaming media from the first client device to all participants in the group communication session for up to the predetermined equal amount of time.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the predetermined amount of time for the originator is greater than the predetermined amount of time for the participants.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, further comprising, in response to expiration of the predetermined equal amount of time for a participant associated with the first client device or receiving, by the application server, a user input from the first client device:

muting the first client device;

unmuting a second client device based on the order of the ordered list; and

streaming media from the second client device to all participants in the group communication session for up to the predetermined amount of time.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28, further comprising continuing said muting, unmuting, and streaming based on the order of the ordered list for up to a predetermined number of rotations through the ordered list has been completed, a predetermined total time for the group communication session has expired, or all of the originator and participants exit the communication session.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the managing the group communication session further comprises providing the predetermined equal amount of exclusive time to each of the participants unless one of the participants requests or is indicated to be skipped, exits, or yields at least a portion of the exclusive time.