US 5,861,907 AGranted

Multi-point teleconference system

AssigneeNEC Corporation

InventorYoshiyasu Wada

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

When a teleconference among more than two places is performed using a multi-point teleconference system, each of teleconference terminal units makes a connection to a multi-point control unit by line. When the number of participants in the teleconference reduces during the teleconference so that the teleconference is performed between only two places, a conference state managing section requests the two teleconference terminal units to make a point-to-point-connection. When the point-to-point connection is acknowledge by these teleconference terminal units, the teleconference by the multi-point control unit is finished. Thereafter, the line is automatically connected between the two teleconference terminal units to perform a teleconference in the style of the point-to-point connection, so that a fee paid for use of the line is one-half compared with that in the case of the prior art.

Claims5

Dependent claims

A multi-point teleconference system which performs a teleconference using televisions by connecting participants in the teleconference existing in a plurality of places comprising:

teleconference opening means for connecting each of a plurality of teleconference terminal units to a multi-point control unit by lines, thereby opening a conference using televisions among said teleconference terminal units located in said places, the multi-point control unit receiving voices and images of a plurality of participants in said conference and supplying the voices and the images required for said participants in said conference to the participants;
number decision means for checking a temporal change of the number of said teleconference terminal units participating in said conference;
and
teleconference style changing means for allowing two teleconference terminal units to be automatically connected without interposing said multi-point control unit, when the number of said teleconference terminal units continuing the teleconference becomes two.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.