Spiderphone.com, Inc.

Stephen T Dacek

Cary T Torkelson

Pierre D Wellner

Arthur A Goikhman

A conference call system receiving calls through a common carrier switch, where the conference call system includes a plurality of multi-port conference bridges, is operated by accepting a bridge having adequate port capacity and for each incoming call for the requested conference: establishing a first incoming connection segment from the carrier switch to the system; prompting the incoming caller for a conference access code; and, if the access code received in response to the prompt matches the conference access code, calling the target bridge through the carrier switch to establish an outgoing connection segment from the system to the carrier switch and a second incoming connection segment from the carrier switch to the target bridge; associating the second incoming connection segment with the incoming call; dropping the first incoming connection segment and the outgoing connection segment; and adding the incoming call to the conference on the target bridge.

Fault-tolerant load balancing of conference call bridges

A method operationally associates a participant's telephone connection to a conference call system with a data connection via the Internet world wide web from the participant's computer screen to the conference call system. The conference call system establishes voice connections between itself and multiple conference call participants. The method comprises the steps of (1) generating a unique temporary code when a data connection is established between the participant and the conference call system, (2) displaying the code over the data connection to the participant on that participant's computer screen, and (3) instructing the participant to enter the code over his telephone connection to the conference call system. Four respectively different scenarios based upon the same underlying method include web then dial-in, dial-in then web, dial-out then web, and web then dial-out.

Associating data connections with conference call telephone

Participants of a conference call are permitted to see a continuously updated display on their own web browsers identifying the current speaker(s) on the conference call. In a telecommunications conferencing system which includes a conference bridge having a plurality of ports, voice connections are established between a plurality of conference participants and respective ports of the conference bridge, human readable visual labels are assigned individually to each of the participants and their respective ports, data connections are established between the conference bridge and respective video monitors for at least some of the participants, respective visual labels for the active speakers are displayed at a fixed location on each of the video monitors, the ports being used by the currently active speakers are detected, and the displayed labels are continually updated according to detected ports as the currently active speakers change. Because visual speaker labels are displayed at fixed screen locations, each participant knows where to look at all times and any need to scroll through multiple screens of data is minimized.

Active talker display for web-based control of conference calls

Participants in a pre-planned conference call are permitted to make reservations for ports on a conference bridge that are either guaranteed or bumpable. Guaranteed reservations are fulfilled regardless of subsequent requests for conference bridge space, while bumpable reservations are fulfilled only if subsequent requests for guaranteed conference bridge space do not require use of the same conference bridge ports. Specifically, in a telecommunications conferencing system taking the form of a conference bridge having n ports, where n is an integer greater than unity, and a system database, a non-guaranteed reservation request is received for a total of p ports for use during times which include a specified period of time, where p is an integer equal to or less than n, the requested ports are assigned, a guaranteed reservation request is received for a total of x ports for use during times which include at least part of the specified period of time, where x is an integer equal to or less than n and (x&plus;p) is greater than n, and enough of the p ports from the non-guaranteed reservation are dropped during the part of the specified period of time to accommodate the guaranteed reservation request, so that (x&plus;p) is no longer greater than n.

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Rockville Centre, NY, United States of America

Stephen T Dacek