Method and apparatus for distributed arbitration of a right to speak among a plurality of devices participating in a real-time voice conference

An apparatus in a network for distributed arbitration of a right to speak among a plurality of devices participating in a real-time voice conference through the network via multimedia data packets having source identifiers, the apparatus comprising:

• a device interface for communicating with a device of the plurality of devices;
• a network interface for communicating with other devices through the network;
• and
• a processor coupled to the device interface and coupled to the network interface for controlling communications through the device interface and the network interface, wherein the processor is programmed to:
• act as an agent associated with the device for arbitrating between a talk stream generated by the device and a listen stream intended for the device and generated by another device on the network;
• define in the agent a “Talk Mode” in which the agent passes the talk stream from the device to the other devices participating in the conference while blocking all listen streams intended for the device, and a “Listen Mode” in which the agent blocks the talk stream of the device from the network and passes a single listen stream from the network to the device;
• and
• make a decision to enter one of the Talk Mode and the Listen Mode, wherein the decision is based upon a presence of at least one of the talk stream and the listen stream, and wherein the decision is further based upon a comparison of the source identifiers of the talk and listen streams when required to resolve a conflict.

A method for distributed arbitration of a right to speak among a plurality of devices participating in a real-time voice conference through a network via multimedia data packets having source identifiers, the method comprising the steps of:

• associating an agent with each of the plurality of devices for arbitrating between a talk stream generated by the device and a listen stream intended for the device and generated by another device on the network;
• defining in the agent a “Converge-Talk Mode” in which the agent provisionally passes the talk stream from the device to other devices participating in the conference while blocking all listen streams intended for the device, and a “Converge-Listen Mode” in which the agent blocks the talk stream of the device from the network and passes a single listen stream from the network to the device;
• and
• making a decision, by the agent, to enter one of the Converge-Talk Mode and the Converge-Listen Mode, wherein the decision is based upon a presence of at least one of the talk stream and the listen stream, and wherein the decision is further based upon a comparison of the source identifiers of the talk and listen streams when required to resolve a conflict.