System and method for notifying participants of topics in an ongoing meeting or conference

• US 8,849,907 B1
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Rockstar Consortium US LP (Rockstar Consortium Inc.)
• Inventors: Hession, Patrick, McCormack, Tony, Costello, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Vostal, O. C.
• Application Number:
  US11/395,601
• Time in Patent Office: 3,105 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709/227, 709/204
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• 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 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/352 In-call/conference information service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5009 Adding a party to an existing conference conducting a computer conference, e.g. admission detection H04L12/1822
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/563 User guidance or feature selection

Abstract

A conference notification system in which potential participants to a conference re notified of relevant sections of the conference as they occur. Records are maintained of associations of persons to at least one or more conference section indicators, each indicator being uniquely associated with a conference section. The system identifies the current conference section and identifies persons associated with the current section, notifying them accordingly.

Claims

1. A system for notifying potential participants of a current conference section of a conference having a plurality of conference sections, each conference section corresponding to one of a plurality of conference topics, the system comprising:

a server configured to;

maintain records of associations of persons to at least one conference section indicator, each indicator being uniquely associated with one of the plurality of conference sections and each indicator comprising one of an agenda item, a code, a title and at least one key word corresponding to one of the plurality of conference topics;

identify during the conference the conference section of the plurality of conference sections which is currently underway;

output a current conference section indicator uniquely associated with the current conference section;

select from the maintained records one or more persons associated with the current conference section indicator to be registered conference participants;

detect a presence status of each registered conference participant; and

transmit a notification to a registered conference participant that a new current conference section has started, a mode of transmission of the notification depending on a presence status of the registered conference participant.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to automatically transmit the notification when the new current conference section is identified.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to transmit the notification to an operator of the system.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the server is further configured to transmit the notification to the registered conference participants upon activation by the operator.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the server is further configured to transmit the notification directly to the registered conference participants.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the notification includes a header indicating the current conference section indicator.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the notification includes an audio announcement indicating the current conference section indicator.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein the server is further configured to transmit a query to a selected person asking if the selected person would like to participate in the new current conference section as a registered conference participant.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the server is configured to one of connect the selected person to and disconnect the selected person from the new current conference section in accordance with the selected person'"'"'s response to the query.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the registered conference participant is enabled to affect multiple entries to the new current conference section in accordance with a plurality of one of connections and disconnections based on the registered conference participant'"'"'s responses to multiple queries.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to employ speech recognition to identify the current conference section.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to input the current conference section indicator, and to identify the input as the current conference section indicator.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to maintain the records relating to the one or more persons and to the conference.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the server further comprises a server application module which comprises a processor configured to search and retrieve data and control communications within the system and between the one or more persons and the system.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one SIP-enabled user terminal, comprising a presence user agent, configured to monitor connection activity at the terminal by the one or more persons, and a presence server configured to maintain the presence status of individual ones of the one or more persons, based on their monitored connection activity of the individual ones of the one or more persons.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein changes in presence status of individual ones of the one or more persons is automatically communicated to the presence server, which is updated accordingly.

17. A method in an interactive conferencing system for notifying potential participants of a current conference section of a conference having a plurality of conference sections, each conference section corresponding to one of a plurality of conference topics, the method comprising:

maintaining at a conference server records of associations of persons at least to one conference section indicator, each indicator being uniquely associated with one of the plurality of conference sections and each indicator comprising one of an agenda item, a code, a title and at least one key word corresponding to one of the plurality of conference topics;

identifying at the conference server during the conference the conference section of the plurality of conference sections which is currently underway;

selecting from the maintained records at the conference server at least one person associated with the current conference section indicator to be a registered conference participant; and

transmitting a notification to a registered conference participant that a new current conference section has started, a mode of transmission of the notification depending on a presence status of the registered conference participant.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein transmitting a notification comprises automatically transmitting a notification when the new current conference section is identified.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein transmitting a notification comprises transmitting the notification to an operator of the system.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein transmitting the notification further comprises transmitting the notification to the registered conference participant when the operator authorizes such a transmission.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein transmitting a notification comprises transmitting the notification directly to the registered conference participant.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the notification includes a header indicating the current conference section indicator.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the notification includes an audio announcement indicating the current conference section indicator.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein transmitting a notification comprises transmitting a query to another selected person asking if the one other selected person would like to participate in the new current conference section.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising one of connecting the one other selected person to and disconnecting the one other selected person from the new current conference section in accordance with the one other selected person'"'"'s response to the query.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the one other selected person effects multiple entries to the new current conference section in accordance with a plurality of connections or disconnections based on the one other selected person'"'"'s responses to multiple queries.

27. The method of claim 17, wherein identifying comprises using speech recognition to identify the current conference section.

28. The method of claim 17, further comprising inputting the current conference section indicator, wherein the identifying includes identifying the input as the current conference section indicator.

29. The method of claim 17, wherein maintaining comprises maintaining the records relating to the persons and to the conference on a teleconferencing server.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the teleconferencing server further comprises a server application module which comprises a processor configured to search and retrieve data and control communications within the system and between the persons and the system.

31. The method of claim 17, wherein said interactive conferencing system includes at least one SIP enabled user terminal comprising a presence user agent which monitors user connection activity at the terminal, and said conferencing system also includes a presence server which maintains the presence status of individual ones of the persons, based on their monitored connection activity.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein changes in presence status of individual ones of the persons are automatically communicated to the presence server, which is updated accordingly.

33. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with computer executable instructions for implementing a method in an interactive conferencing system for notifying potential participants of a current conference section of a conference having a plurality of conference sections, each conference section corresponding to one of a plurality of conference topics, the method comprising:

maintaining records of associations of persons at least to one conference section indicator, each indicator being uniquely associated with one of the plurality of conference sections and each indicator comprising one of an agenda item, a code, a title and at least one key word corresponding to one of the plurality of conference topics;

identifying during the conference the conference section of the plurality of conference sections which is currently underway;

selecting from the maintained records at least one person associated with the current conference section indicator to be a registered conference participant; and

transmitting a notification to a registered conference participant that a new conference section has started, a mode of transmission of the notification depending on a presence status of the registered conference participant.