Scalable conferencing systems and methods
AssigneeMidas Technology, LLC
InventorsJoseph Marash, Jacob Marash, Baruch Berdugo
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A scalable conferencing system can include a set of conferencing devices configured to be placed on a surface (such as, a table), mounted on a ceiling, or attached to a wall. The conferencing devices can be configured to be positioned in a room and pick up and/or reproduce audio in the room. Depending on the configuration and/or characteristics of the room (such as, dimensions, geometry, acoustical properties, furnishings, or the like), a plurality of conferencing devices of a particular type can be deployed in the room and/or conferencing devices of another particular type may not be deployed. The conferencing system can be used for audio and/or video conferencing.
Claims46
A conferencing device for use in a scalable conferencing system, the conferencing device comprising:
- a housing supporting at least one of a microphone or a speaker, the housing configured to be positioned on a surface, mounted on a ceiling, or mounted on a wall;
- and
- a first processing circuitry supported by the housing, the first processing circuitry configured to:
- in response to receiving an indication that the conferencing device has been assigned to a group of conferencing devices associated with a room, store information associating the conferencing device with the room in a first memory;
- and
- in response to being powered on:
- retrieve the information associating the conferencing device with the room from the first memory;
- in response to determining that the conferencing device has been assigned to the group of conferencing devices associated with the room, cause at least one of:
- the microphone to sense audio in the room or the speaker to reproduce audio in the room;
- and
- in response to determining that the conferencing device has not been assigned to the group of conferencing devices associated with the room, prevent any microphone from sensing audio in the room and prevent any speaker from reproducing audio in the room.
A method of operating a conferencing device for use in a scalable conferencing system, the method comprising:
- by a first processing circuitry:
- in response to receiving an indication that the conferencing device has been assigned to a group of conferencing devices associated with a room, storing information associating the conferencing device with the room in a first memory;
- and
- in response to being powered on:
- retrieving the information associating the conferencing device with the room from the first memory;
- in response to determining that the conferencing device has been assigned to the group of conferencing devices associated with the room, causing at least one of:
- a microphone of the conferencing device to sense audio in the room or a speaker of the conferencing device to reproduce audio in the room;
- and
- in response to determining that the conferencing device has not been assigned to the group of conferencing devices associated with the room, preventing any microphone of the conferencing device from sensing audio in the room and preventing any speaker of the conferencing device from reproducing audio in the room.
A hub for use in a scalable conferencing system, the hub comprising:
- a port configured to provide a connection with a computing device configured to facilitate a conferencing call;
- and
- a processing circuitry configured to:
- transmit data to and receive data from the computing device via a communication protocol implemented over the connection;
- determine first synchronization information from the data received from the computing device, the first synchronization information comprising a clock indicative of a rate of data transmission by the computing device over the connection;
- using the first synchronization information, determine a second synchronization information to synchronize audio sampling by a plurality of conferencing devices;
- and
- transmit the second synchronization information to the plurality of conferencing devices.
A method of operating a hub for use in a scalable conferencing system, the method comprising:
- by a processing circuitry of the hub:
- via a communication protocol implemented over a connection between the hub and a computing device configured to facilitate a conferencing call, transmitting data to and receiving data from the computing device;
- determining first synchronization information from the data received from the computing device, the first synchronization information comprising a clock indicative of a rate of data transmission by the computing device over the connection;
- using the first synchronization information, determining a second synchronization information to synchronize audio sampling by a plurality of conferencing devices;
- and
- transmitting the second synchronization information to the plurality of conferencing devices.
A conferencing device for use in a scalable conferencing system, the conferencing device comprising:
- a housing supporting a plurality of microphones spaced apart from one another, the housing configured to be positioned on a surface, mounted to a ceiling, or mounted on a wall;
- and
- a processing circuitry supported by the housing, the processing circuitry configured to:
- determine that audio has been generated by one or more audio sources positioned within a zone and not by an audio source positioned outside the zone;
- and
- process the audio responsive to the determination.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.