Polycom, Inc.

Martin G Sexton

Alain Elon Nimri

Jeffrey C Rodman

Don Binford

David Drell

Rick A Vander Kam

Jeff Ratcliff

Carolyn Kilday

Michael J Hess

Peter L Chu

Scott H Wakefield

Stephen Paul Schaefer

Jerry Mayfield

Christopher Ramm

Kyle Brookshire

Benjamin Misrahi

Pat Vanderwilt

Randy Castles

Stacy Saxon

Jeffry Ratcliff

A conference link between devices in teleconference system at one site is disclosed. The linked devices include video conference units, speakerphones or stand-alone loudspeakers. Audio data can be transmitted through the conference link between devices. Audio data processing can be performed in either a video conference unit or a speakerphone. The microphones and loudspeakers in the video conference unit may be eliminated. The microphones and loudspeakers in the speakerphone are used. Other data, for example directories of dialing information, may also be transmitted through the conference link and the data processing may be allocated among processors in devices connected by conference links. The conference link may be wired or wireless, analog or digital. The devices may be linked by conference link in parallel or series. A dialing program can adapt the dialing stream with the locations of the near end site and the dialed far end site. The dialing program can automatically select a mutually supported network or protocol to establish a connection between two sites.

Conference link between a speakerphone and a video conference unit

An overhead microphone assembly using multiple unidirectional microphone elements. The microphone assembly is installed overhead, generally above all the desired sound sources and below the undesired sound sources. The signals from these multiple microphone elements are fed into a microphone steering processor which can mix and gate the signals to ensure the best signal/noise ratio. The steering processor may also track the sound source dynamically when such tracking (source locating) is desired. The resulting audio signal from the steering processor may be further processed, such as echo canceling, noise reduction and automatic gain control.

Ceiling microphone assembly

The Graphical User Interface (GUI) of a videoconference terminal is provided with user-selectable icons which are associated by the user with various video signals. Textual labels for the various video signals may also be provided. This information may be exchanged with the 'far end' participant in the video conference. During the videoconference participants may then simply select an icon to dynamically switch video feeds without having to remember by number the particular camera or other video signal associated with a desired video feed.

Graphical user interface for video feed on videoconference terminal

Personal videoconferencing device

Growing community of inventors

Round Rock, TX, United States of America

Martin G Sexton