| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080256182 | Emulation of room lock and lobby feature in distributed conferencing system - Architecture for a session lock and lobby feature in a distributed conferencing framework for a conferencing session. Under a lock scenario, once a user enters the session, the session can be locked to prevent other individuals from entering, even if the individuals were invited to the session. Locking can be accomplished manually by a session participant and/or automatically based on criteria. The lobby feature allows a session participant to be aware of users in the lobby and pending access to the session by providing notification and/or identification of the user attempting to gain access to the session. The session leader can selectively allow access to the session. The architecture facilitates lock and lobby features in multiple identical, leaderless, conference servers which together form a distributed conferencing system. The lock and lobby features can employ media session protocols such as session initiation protocol (SIP) and centralized conference control protocol (C3P). | 10-16-2008 |
| 20080267095 | Breakout rooms in a distributed conferencing environment - Architecture that facilitates management and control of sidebar sessions (or breakout rooms) in a distributed conferencing environment. Distributed frontends (or MCUs) are provided for multi-party access into a main conferencing session. In one implementation, the main session can then be partitioned to provide one or more sidebar sessions for side conferencing. The sidebar sessions can all be contained on a single MCU or distributed across multiple MCUs. The leader of the main session can then freely roam among the sidebar sessions of a single MCU or among the sessions on the distributed MCUs. The protocol can be SIP-based, and also or alternatively use C3P commands for creating (or adding) a sidebar session, modifying the sidebar, moving users to and from a sidebar, and deleting the sidebar session. | 10-30-2008 |
| 20090055475 | INVITING A CONFERENCING UNAWARE ENDPOINT TO A CONFERENCE - Systems and methods that enable conference unaware clients to participate in the conference. A conferencing component is aware of what protocol to employ, and enables devices and/or end points that employ disparate or heterogeneous protocols to participate in the same conference initiated therebetween. A call flow (e.g., in form of a dial out) can be initiated, wherein the conferencing component invites conference unaware devices to participate in the conference. | 02-26-2009 |
| 20090083183 | DISTRIBUTED SECURE ANONYMOUS CONFERENCING - A communications manager of an enterprise receives an add-conference request to host a conference by the enterprise from an organizer client, wherein the conference to enable an anonymous user that does not have enterprise credentials to join the conference. The communications manager sends an add-conference response to the organizer client indicating that the conference is organized. | 03-26-2009 |
| 20090204716 | MEDIA MIX WIRING PROTOCOL FOR MEDIA CONTROL - Protocol architecture for wiring media streams and specifying mixing behavior in a multipoint control unit. The protocol provides the capability to expose the core mixing algorithms to modification for mixing media without dealing with the functionality of the mixer itself (e.g., ports and IP specifics). The protocol facilitates the wiring of input media streams to output media streams by changing the mixing behavior via changes to the mixing algorithms using the protocol. The protocol operates based on a schema that includes controls related to route, wire, and filter for the mixer input and mixer output. | 08-13-2009 |
| 20090217109 | ENHANCED PRESENCE ROUTING AND ROSTER FIDELITY BY PROACTIVE CRASHED ENDPOINT DETECTION - Endpoint crashes in a real time communication system are detected by a home server providing presence and other services to the endpoint upon receipt of an error message from an access server between the endpoint and the home server. The home server uses a cookie inserted into a dialog between itself and the endpoint identifying the endpoint, a session state created by the access server identifying the endpoint, or a transaction state maintained by the home server to look up the endpoint associated with the error message. Race conditions occurring when an endpoint crashes and recovers rapidly can be avoided employing a timestamp or sequence number incremented for each new endpoint registration and comparing a current timestamp or sequence number to the stored one before updating records at the home server. By notifying other subscribers about crashed endpoints, routing fidelity is enhanced. | 08-27-2009 |
| 20100238842 | PHONE CONFERENCING ARCHITECTURE WITH OPTIMIZED SERVICES MANAGEMENT - Architecture that employs a cost-effective mechanism to only engage the services as needed, and then release these services in a managed way. This reduces the runtime cost so that users can have more conferences for the same amount of hardware purchased for such purposes at a minimum cost. The architecture provides the efficient and seamless integration of PSTN phone users and VoIP audio users in a cost effective and efficient way by the use of the same conferencing server and the same audio-video multi-point control unit that users currently employ with additional services that include a conferencing auto attendant service authenticates the phone user and transfers the phone user into the conference, a conference announcement server application is responsible for playing conference announcements, and a personal virtual assistant application which is responsible for translating user-initiated DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency) tones into conference control commands. | 09-23-2010 |
| 20100318397 | SYNCHRONIZING DELEGATION MODELS BETWEEN DISPARATE SERVERS - Architecture that provides synchronization of delegation permissions between discrete delegation models. For example, the synchronization of the delegation permissions (of a delegator and delegatee) can be performed between a delegation component of a scheduling system and a delegation component of a conferencing system such that the delegatee not only accesses the scheduling system on behalf of the delegator but also the conferencing system on behalf of the delegator. A synchronization component synchronizes the delegation permissions between the server systems (delegation components). Once synchronized, the delegatee administers the communications session, based on on-behalf-of information is validated, the delegatee can then establish the communications session. | 12-16-2010 |
| 20110044319 | EARLY MEDIA AND FORKING IN 3PCC - A control server initiates a call to a first device. After creating a connection to the device, the control server reverses the direction of the message flow between the device and the control server such that the device becomes the initiator of the call (the caller) and the control server becomes the device that is called (the callee). A connection is also established between the first device, the control server and a second device that is an endpoint for the call. Early media and forking is available to the first device after reversing the direction of the message flow between the first device and the control server and the callee has been contacted. Additionally, information flows between the first device and the second device through the control server as if the first device and the second device were directly connected. | 02-24-2011 |
| 20110060694 | DISTRIBUTED SECURE ANONYMOUS CONFERENCING - A communications manager of an enterprise receives an add-conference request to host a conference by the enterprise from an organizer client, wherein the conference to enable an anonymous user that does not have enterprise credentials to join the conference. The communications manager sends an add-conference response to the organizer client indicating that the conference is organized. | 03-10-2011 |
