Audio conference platform system and method for broadcasting a real-time audio conference over the internet

• US 6,697,476 B1
• Filed: 03/22/2000
• Issued: 02/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Polycom Incorporated (Plantronics, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Octave Communications, Inc. (Plantronics, Inc.)
• Inventors: Leondires, Arthur P., OʼMalley, William
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Creighton
• Application Number:
  US09/532,983
• Time in Patent Office: 1,434 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.17, 379/202.01, 379/203.01, 379/204.01, 379/205.01
• US Class Current: 379/202.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/205 Broadcasting broadcasting in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/203 composed of PSTN and data network, e.g. the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42229 Personal communication services, i.e. services related to one subscriber independent of his terminal and/or location diverting calls from one subscriber to another subscriber, i.e. two different subscriptions H04M3/54; selecting arrangements in intelligent networks H04Q3/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• 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 3/561 by multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0039 where the data service is provided by a stream of packets which are rendered in real time by the receiving terminal network streaming of media packets H04L65/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1295 Details of dual tone multiple frequency signalling
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/45 using multi-frequency signalling H04Q1/46 takes precedence

Abstract

An audio conferencing system comprises an audio conference mixer that receives digitized audio signals and sums a plurality of the digitized audio signals containing speech to provide a summed conference signal. A transcoder receives and transcodes the summed conference signal to provide a transcoded summed signal that is streamed onto the Internet.

Claims

1. An audio conferencing system, comprising:

an audio conference mixer that receives digitized audio signals and sums a plurality of said digitized audio signals containing speech to provide a summed conference signal; and

a transcoder that receives and transcodes said summed conference signal to provide a transcoded summed signal that is streamed onto the Internet.

2. An audio conferencing system, comprising:

a data bus;

a plurality of digital signal processors adapted to communicate on said data bus, wherein a first of said plurality of digital signal processors receives digitized audio signals associated with conference participants who are speaking, and sums a plurality of said digitized audio signals to provide to a second of said plurality of digital signal processors a summed conference signal and a conference list indicative of said digitized audio signals summed to generate said summed conference signal, wherein for each conference participant on said conference list said second of said plurality of digital signal processors removes said digitized audio signal associated with the conference participant from said summed conference signal to provide a unique conference signal for the conference participant; and

means for receiving and transcoding said summed conference signal to provide a transcoded summed signal that is streamed onto the Internet.

3. The audio conferencing system of claim 2, wherein said means for receiving and transcoding comprises a digital signal processor adapted to receive said summed conference signal and process said summed conference signal to provide a transcoded summed signal that is streamed on the Internet.

4. The audio conferencing system of claim 2, wherein said first of said plurality of digital signal processors is configured as an audio conference mixer, said second of said plurality of digital signal processors is configured as an audio processor that receives said digitized audio signals and determines which of said digitized audio signals comprises voice data and provides a speech list indicative thereof to said audio conference mixer, which sums a plurality of said digitized audio signals identified in said speech list to provide said summed conference signal.

5. The audio conferencing system of claim 4, wherein said speech list comprises a plurality of speech bits, each uniquely associated with one of said digitized audio signals.

6. The audio conferencing system of claim 5, wherein said conference list comprises a plurality of conference bits, each uniquely associated with one of said digitized audio signals.

7. The audio conferencing system of claim 2, further comprising:

a system bus; and

a controller that communicates with said plurality of digital signal processors over said system bus, and downloads executable program instructions to said digital signal processors.

8. The audio conferencing system of claim 4 wherein said audio processor provides said plurality of digitized audio signals to said audio conference mixer over a dedicated communications link between said audio processor and said audio conference mixer.

9. The audio conferencing system of claim 4 wherein said audio processor provides said plurality of digitized audio signals to said audio conference mixer over said data bus.

10. An audio conferencing platform, comprising:

means for receiving audio signals associated with conference participants, and for providing a digitized audio signal and a speech bit for each of said audio signals, wherein said speech bit indicates whether or not said associated digitized audio signal includes voice data from the associated conference participant;

an audio conference mixer adapted to receive said digitized audio signals and said speech bits, and sum a plurality of said digitized audio signals based upon the state of said speech bits to provide a summed conference signal, and provide a conference list indicative of the conference participants whose voice is included in said summed conference signal;

means for receiving said summed conference signal and said conference list, for providing said summed conference signal to each of said conference participants that are not on said conference list, and for each conference participant on the conference list removing the digitized audio signal associated with that conference participant from said summed conference signal and providing a resultant difference audio signal to the conference participant on said conference list; and

circuitry adapted to transcode said summed conference signal to provide a transcoded summed signal that is streamed onto the Internet.

11. The audio conferencing platform of claim 10, wherein said audio conference mixer comprises a first digital signal processor.

12. The audio conferencing platform of claim 11, wherein said means for receiving audio signals comprises a network interface circuit and a second digital signal processor configured to operate as an audio processor, wherein said network interface circuit and said audio processor are interconnected by a time division multiplex (TDM) bus.

13. The audio conferencing platform of claim 10, wherein said means for receiving said summed conference signal and said conference list comprises a digital signal processor.

14. The audio conferencing platform of claim 10, further comprising a time division multiplex (TDM) bus that interconnects (i) said means for receiving audio signals associated with conference participants, (ii) said audio conference mixer and (iii) said means for receiving said summed conference signal and said conference list, wherein said summed conference signal and said conference list are provided over said TDM bus.

15. The audio conferencing platform of claim 10, wherein said audio conferencing platform supports a plurality of simultaneous conferences and said means for receiving audio signals further comprises,

means for DTMF tone detection that tests each of said audio signals to determine if a DTMF tone is present and provides a DMTF detect bit indicative thereof, wherein each of said audio signals has a uniquely associated DTMF detect bit; and

said audio conference mixer comprises means for checking said DTMF detect bit associated with any digitized audio signal to be added to said summed conference signal based upon said speech list, to ensure that said summed conference signal does not include digitized audio signals whose associated DTMF detect bit indicates the presence of a DTMF tone.

16. An audio conferencing platform that provides a summed conference signal over the Internet, said platform comprising:

input circuitry adapted to received audio signals associated with conference participants, and provide a digitized audio signal and a speech bit for each of said audio signals, wherein said speech bit indicates whether or not said associated digitized audio signal includes voice data from the associated conference participant;

a centralized audio conference mixer adapted to receive said digitized audio signals and said speech bits, and sum a plurality of said digitized audio signals based upon the state of said speech bits to provide a summed conference signal, and provide a conference list indicative of the conference participants whose voice is included in said summed conference signal;

an encoder that receives and transcodes said summed conference signal to provide a transcoded summed signal that is streamed onto the Internet.