Videoconferencing system for and method of tele-working
AssigneeFrance Telecom
InventorMarc Berenguer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A videoconferencing system breaks the isolation of teleworkers by recreating relational situations between the teleworkers and other employees from the same company as if the parties were conversing in the same office. Each person participating in the videoconferencing always receives animated images of all the other participants via a central server and can select the image of at least one other participant with whom an audioconference, within the videoconference, is to be established. The central server only retransmits audio data from each audioconference participant to the other audio conference participants, with an identifier for each participant.
Claims12
Videoconference system comprising:
- terminals adapted to be connected via a telecommunication network to a central videoconference management arrangement for collecting video data from participants in at least one videoconference respectively adapted to be transmitted by said terminals and for broadcasting video data transmitted by each terminal to the other terminals,
- each terminal, while functioning as a calling terminal, including a selector for selecting at least one called terminal with which an audiovisual communication is to be set up in order for said calling terminal to transmit a called terminal identifier and calling party audio data and calling party video data to said central arrangement,
- said central arrangement including an audio-video transmitter arrangement for controlling transmission between the terminals of the participants so that (a) the central arrangement is arranged to control transmission of said calling party audio data and calling party video data with said identifiers of said calling terminal and called terminal to said called terminal and (b) the central control arrangement is arranged to (i) control transmission between the calling terminal and terminals other than said calling and called terminals for transmission of calling party video data with said identifier of said calling terminal to the terminals other than said calling terminal and called terminal, and (ii) is arranged to prevent transmission of the calling party audio data to the terminals other than said calling terminal and called terminal, and
- each terminal, while functioning as a called terminal, including a controller for controlling reproduction of said calling party audio data forwarded by said central arrangement in matching relationship with said display of pictures representative of said calling party video data transmitted by said central arrangement in response to said identifiers of said calling terminal and called terminal transmitted by said central arrangement.
Central videoconference server connected to terminals via a telecommunication network in a videoconference system in which video data of participants in at least one videoconference respectively transmitted by said terminals are collected in said central server and the collected video data are broadcast to said terminals by said central server, said server including
- an audio-video transmitter arrangement for (a) transmitting and controlling transmission of said audio data and video data from a calling terminal which has selected at least one called terminal with which audiovisual communication is to be set up, the audio-video transmitter being arranged to transmit said audio and video data with identifiers of said calling terminal and called terminal to said called terminal, and (b) controlling transmission between said calling terminal and terminals other than said called terminal for causing (i) said calling terminal video data with said identifier of said calling terminal to be transmitted to all of said terminals other than said called terminal and calling terminal in response to said identifiers of said calling terminal and called terminal transmitted by said calling terminal, and (ii) preventing transmission of the calling party audio data to the terminals other than said calling terminal and called terminal.
A video-conferencing method that breaks the isolation of teleworkers by recreating relational situations between the teleworkers and other employees from the same company as if the teleworkers and other parties were conversing in the same office, the method comprising always supplying to a video display of a terminal of each person participating in the videoconference animated images of all the other participants via a central server so each person can select the image of at least one other participant with whom an audioconference, within the videoconference, is to be established, and, at the central server, controlling transmission from the central server so (a) video data from each participant is transmitted from the central server to all the other participants and (b) only audio data are transmitted between terminals of calling and called participants, the audio data being transmitted from the central server with an identifier for each participant.
A videoconference system comprising:
- N terminals adapted to be connected to a telecommunication network, where N is an integer equal to or greater than 3, each of the terminals being arranged for transmitting and receiving signals including (a) audio and video information, and (b) an identification of one or more terminal(s) a user at one of the terminals (referred to as a calling terminal) identifies to call;
- a central station arranged to receive the signal transmitted from each of the terminals, the central station including a controller arranged to be responsive to the signal transmitted from each of the terminals for (a) supplying the video information transmitted to the central station from each terminal to all the terminals of the system other than the calling terminal, (b) supplying the audio information transmitted by the calling terminal to the central station to the one or more identified terminals and enabling the one or more identified terminals to supply the audio information transmitted by them to the central station to be transmitted to the calling terminal, and (c) preventing the audio information transmitted by the calling terminal to the central station from being supplied to any of the terminals other than the one or more identified terminals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.