METHODS AND APPARATUS TO MANAGE CONFERENCE CALLS

• US 20150201084A1
• Filed: 03/26/2015
• Published: 07/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gorti, Sreenivasa, Chang, Hisao
• Granted Patent: US 9,300,810 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/75 Media network packet handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• 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: 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

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to manage conference calls are described. An example method includes enabling, via a logic circuit, a first one of participants of a conference call to request an adjustment of a volume of a current speaker different than the first participant; and in response to a request from the first participant, adjusting, via the logic circuit, an amplification setting associated with the current speaker in a preference file associated with the first participant.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

enabling, via a logic circuit, a first one of participants of a conference call to request an adjustment of a volume of a current speaker different than the first participant; and

in response to a request from the first participant, adjusting, via the logic circuit, an amplification setting associated with the current speaker in a preference file associated with the first participant.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, further including determining an identity of the current speaker from a record of the participants of the conference call.

3. A method as defined in claim 2, further including maintaining the record of the participants of the conference call by includes tracking identification numbers associated with respective participants as the corresponding participant joins the conference call.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, further including conveying an audio signal based on the preference file associated with the first participant to a communication device of the first participant.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, further including integrating the amplification setting into an aggregate audio signal to be conveyed to the first participant.

6. A method as defined in claim 5, wherein the integrating of the amplification setting includes performing a multiplication operation with the amplification setting and the incoming audio signal of the current speaker.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the adjusting of the amplification setting does not affect a second one of the participants of the conference call.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the request from the first participant is received via a web page having an input associated with the amplification setting of the current speaker.

9. A method as defined in claim 1, further including storing the amplification setting associated with the current speaker in the preference file for future conference calls.

10. A method as defined in claim 1, further including sensing an inflection in a voice of the current speaker and visually conveying the inflection to the first participant of the conference call.

11. A method as defined in claim 1, further including enabling the first participant to adjust a universal amplification setting associated with the conference call.

12. An article of manufacture including instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to perform operations comprising:

enabling a first one of participants of a conference call to request an adjustment of a volume of a current speaker different than the first participant; and

in response to a request from the first participant, adjusting an amplification setting associated with the current speaker in a preference file associated with the first participant.

13. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 12, wherein the operations further include determining an identity of the current speaker from a record of the participants of the conference call.

14. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 12, wherein the operations further include conveying an audio signal based on the preference file associated with the first participant to a communication device of the first participant.

15. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 12, wherein the adjusting of the amplification setting does not affect a second one of the participants of the conference call.

16. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 12, wherein the request from the first participant is received via a web page having an input associated with the amplification setting of the current speaker.

17. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 12, wherein the operations further include enabling the first participant to adjust a universal amplification setting associated with the conference call.

18. An apparatus, comprising:

memory including machine-readable instructions; and

a processor to execute the instructions to perform operations including;

enabling a first one of participants of a conference call to request an adjustment of a volume of a current speaker different than the first participant; and

in response to a request from the first participant, adjusting an amplification setting associated with the current speaker in a preference file associated with the first participant.

19. An apparatus as defined in claim 18, wherein the operations further include determining an identity of the current speaker from a record of the participants of the conference call.

20. An apparatus as defined in claim 18, wherein the adjusting of the amplification setting does not affect a second participant of the conference call.