The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 18, 1976
Filed:
Sep. 30, 1974
David C Nicholas, Cedar Rapids, IA (US);
Rockwell International Corporation, El Segundo, CA (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for providing improved telephonic conferences is presented. A speaker is selected for each conferee from the signals of the other conferees. The peak values of the speaker signal establish a variable reference level which another conferee must first exceed in order to become the new speaker and establish a new reference level. The reference level is continuously allowed to decay so that new speakers may gain the floor when the current speaker's peak signals fall below the peak signals of another speaker. Both an analog and a digital embodiment of the invention are presented. A specific feature of the invention involves directing all signals of other conferees to all conferees and each conferee station selects the loudest signal (maximum amplitude) for that conferee.