US 6,192,395 B1Granted

System and method for visually identifying speaking participants in a multi-participant networked event

AssigneeMultitude Inc.

InventorsEdward A. Lerner, Arthur W. Min, James E. G. Morris

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Abstract

A method of visually identifying speaking participants in a multi-participant event such as an audio conference or an on-line game includes the step of receiving packets of digitized sound from a network connection. The identity of the participant associated with each packet is used to route the packet to a channel buffer or an overflow buffer. Each channel buffer may be assigned to a single participant in the multi-participant. A visual identifier module updates the visual identifier associated with participants that have been assigned a channel buffer. In some embodiments, the appearance of the visual identifier associated with the participant is dependent upon the differential of an acoustic parameter derived from content in the associated buffer channel and a reference value stored in a participant record.

Claims25

Dependent claims

A computer product for use in conjunction with a computer system, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising:

(i) a participant data structure comprising a plurality of participant records, each participant record associated with a different participant in a multi-participant event;
(ii) an application module for providing a user interface to said multi-participant event;
(iii) a sound control module for receiving a plurality of packets from a network connection, each said packet associated with a participant in said multi-participant event and including digitized speech from said participant, said sound controller comprising:
a plurality of buffers, each buffer including instructions for managing a subset of said packets;
a packet controller that includes instructions for determining said participant associated with said packet and instructions for routing said packet to a buffer, wherein when said packet is routed to said buffer, said packet is managed by said buffer;
and
a visual identification module that includes instructions for visually identifying said participant in said multi-participant event and a characteristic associated with said participant;
and
(iv) a sound mixer that includes instructions for mixing digitized speech from at least one of said buffers to produce a signal that is presented to an output device.

6 more elements

A method for visually identifying speaking participants in a multi-participant event, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving a packet from a remote source;
determining an identity associated with said packet;
comparing said identity of said packet with an identity associated with a channel buffer selected from a plurality of channel buffers;
wherein, said identity associated with said channel buffer is determined by an identity of a packet stored by said channel buffer when said channel buffer is storing a packet, and said channel buffer is available when no packet is stored by said channel buffer;
routing said packet to:
(i) a channel buffer when said identity of said packet matches said identity associated with said channel buffer;
(ii) an available channel buffer when said identity of said packet does not match an identity of a channel buffer;
and
(iii) an overflow buffer when said identity of said packet does not match an identity of a channel buffer and there is no available channel buffer;
and
associating a different visual identifier with each participant in said multi-participant event;
displaying each said different visual identifier on an output device;
wherein said different visual identifier is determined by a characteristic associated with said participant.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/465,717Filed 17 Dec 1999 · us provisional application
Priority: 23 Dec 1998
Granted: 20 Feb 2001
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

H04M 3/56
Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers: arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e.…
H04M 3/493
Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements: interactive information services, e.g.…
H04M 7/006
Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres: networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet…
H04M 3/42059
Calling party identification service: making use of the calling party identifier

Family

Application60/113,644Us provisional application · filed 23 Dec 1998
US 6,192,395 B1This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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