TWI675581B - Method for conference call in distributed architecture - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for conducting a cluster teleconference with a decentralized architecture is mainly to install an application program on the VoIP switch at each end point (decentralized) to execute the method. The method includes: (A) the calling VoIP switch At least one member (conference convener) establishes a calling group and edits a conference call notice; (B) sets a virtual conference room extension and a conference password; (C) sets the participating members of the calling network telephone exchange (Extension); (D) set up at least one participating member (extension) of the VoIP switch at the called end; (E) send the conference call notice to the set participating member; (F) receive the meeting of the participating member Participation request. If the participating member is from the called Internet telephone exchange, the sending of a called group notification is sent to the participating member and the meeting participation request is rejected; if the participating member is from the calling Internet telephone The exchange, the participating member is added to the calling group; (G) at least one participating member of the called end Internet telephone exchange establishes a called group and calls the other called end Internet telephone exchange Participating members join the called group; (H) the called group multicast calls the virtual conference room extension to connect with the calling group for a group conference call; and (I) ends the group conference call and deletes the group call. Calling group, called group, virtual Conference room extension code and the conference password.

Description

Method of conference call with decentralized architecture

The present invention relates to conference calls, in particular to a method that enables users of network telephone exchanges (called ends) scattered in different places to form groups and collectively connect to the conference organizer's network through group dialing. A method for conducting a conference call with related member clusters in a conference group of a telephone exchange (calling end).

The current telephone exchange system is more commonly used as an Internet telephone exchange system (IP PBX). It is necessary to apply for a dedicated network route from a telecommunications service provider. The number of extensions and call quality in the Internet telephone exchange system are limited by bandwidth restrictions. Each set of extensions will occupy part of the bandwidth when making calls. Therefore, when multiple extensions are in use at the same time, considerable bandwidth will be consumed, resulting in unstable bandwidth and affecting the quality of the call. For a network telephone exchange system with a small bandwidth or a large enterprise or bank with a large bandwidth but a large number of extensions, when you want to conduct a multi-person conference call at a different location (branch, branch, etc.), the traditional method is Participants in the conference call (extensions under the VoIP switch system in branches, branches, and other places) need to individually consume bandwidth to join the conference call for common conversation. Such a connection method will take up The bandwidth of the VoIP switch in two places. If the bandwidth of the VoIP switch in one place is insufficient, it will cause the connection call quality to be poor, so this method is only applicable. Type of conference call and not fit for human Used by many large conference calls.

For a large enterprise with bases all over the world, each base has an Internet telephone switch, and its network bandwidth will be set according to the number of bases. If all bases need to be connected to the head office When conducting a conference call, if the participants at each site (each extension) need to call the head office individually to join the conference call, the site with a small number of people will be limited by its smaller bandwidth, which will cause the frequency of the site. The bandwidth consumption is too large, and the connection and call quality of the base is poor. Furthermore, in this example, the head office also needs to spend a considerable amount of money on the construction of large bandwidth and maintenance of hardware equipment, which does not meet the practical requirements. .

In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings, based on years of professional R & D and manufacturing capabilities and design experience in the related fields of traffic communication, the inventor of this case actively researched and sought to improve the solution, and proposed a method of decentralized architecture for cluster teleconferencing, hoping to make decentralized Internet telephony The users of the exchange must join the same conference call with each other in a group call. The group-to-group call can consume the minimum bandwidth (the entire group is equal to one extension, which occupies the bandwidth of one extension). The small bandwidth consumption can also ensure the quality and smoothness of the call, and this method can be achieved without being limited by the number of connected groups and the number of participants.

The main purpose of the present invention is to propose a method for enabling relevant members of a distributed Internet telephone exchange (called end) to form a group on the Internet telephone exchange and to collectively connect to the conference call through group dialing. Method for conducting a conference call with related member clusters in a conference group on the party's Internet telephone exchange (calling end).

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention proposes a method for a multi-group gathering conference, which is mainly to install an application program on an Internet telephone exchange at each endpoint (distributed in various places) to manage and Executing the method, the method includes: (A) at least one member (conference convener) of the calling network telephone exchange establishes a calling group and edits a conference call notice; (B) sets a virtual conference room extension and A conference password; (C) set the participating member (extension) of the calling VoIP switch; (D) set at least one participating member (extension) of the called VoIP switch; (E) send the conference call Notify the above-mentioned participating members; (F) Receive the meeting participation request of the participating members, and if the participating members come from the called Internet telephone exchange, send a notification of establishing a called group to the participating members And reject the meeting participation request; if the participating member is from the calling VoIP switch, the participating member is added to the calling group; (G) at least one participating member of the called VoIP switch is established A called group and calling other participating members of the called network telephone exchange to join the called group; (H) the called group multicasts the extension of the virtual conference room to connect with the calling group Cluster conference call And (I) the end of the cluster conference call, delete the caller group, the group called the virtual meeting room extension code and the meeting password.

The virtual conference room extension includes the identification code of the calling exchange.

Step (B) further includes setting a meeting date and time. Step (E) is to send the conference call notification to all set participants by any means such as sending an email notification or sending an application notification.

Step (H) further includes: (H1) judge whether the conference convener is online, if it is, proceed to step (H3), otherwise proceed to step (H2); (H2) send a conference reminder to the conference convener, and call the group Voice prompts and waiting music are played in the group, and return to step (H1); (H3) to start the cluster conference call after a predetermined time.

The step (H3) further includes: (H31) receiving a meeting participation request from an unset participating member, requesting a meeting password; (H32) verifying that the meeting password is correct, and if it is correct, then Unscheduled participating members join the cluster conference call. If not, the conference participation request is rejected and the call is disconnected.

With this method, users of VoIP exchanges in different places can join each other in the same conference call in a group call mode, and the minimum bandwidth consumption can be achieved in a group-to-group call mode (the entire group is equal to one Extensions only occupy the bandwidth of one extension). Because the bandwidth is less occupied, the quality of the call can be ensured, and this method can be achieved without being limited by the number of connected groups and the number of participants.

100‧‧‧ VoIP Switch (Caller)

101 ~ 104‧‧‧ extension

110‧‧‧Calling group

200‧‧‧ VoIP Switch (Called End)

201 ~ 103‧‧‧ extension

210‧‧‧ called group

301‧‧‧Other participating members

302‧‧‧Other participating members

S10 ~ S90‧‧‧Step instructions

Figure 1 is a block diagram of the steps of the present invention.

Figures 2A to 2D are schematic diagrams of the architecture of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3A to 3B are schematic diagrams of applications of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an execution process of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 4A ~ 4B are detailed flow diagrams of Figure 4.

In order to make your review more clear about the technical content and characteristics of the present invention, the following is a detailed description of the preferred embodiment with illustrations.

The method of the present invention is applicable to an Internet telephone exchange (IP PBX). Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a block diagram showing the main steps of a preferred embodiment of the method for performing a cluster teleconference with the decentralized architecture of the present invention. An application is installed on the VoIP switch at each endpoint (decentralized) to execute the method. The method mainly includes the following steps: Step S10: At least one member (conference convener) of the calling VoIP switch establishes a Calling group and editing a conference call notice; Step S20: Set a virtual conference room extension and a conference password; Step S30: Set the participating member (extension) of the calling VoIP switch; Step S40: Set at least one called VoIP switch member ( Extension); step S50: transmitting the conference call notice to the above set participating members; step S60: receiving the meeting participation request of the participating members, and if the participating members are from the called Internet telephone exchange, transmitting Create a called group to notify the participating member and reject the meeting participation request; if the participating member is from the calling network telephone exchange, add the participating member to the calling group; step S70: the called terminal At least one participating member of the Internet telephone exchange establishes a called group, and calls other participating members of the Internet telephone exchange to join the called group; step S80: the called group multicasts the virtual conference room The extension is connected to the calling group for a cluster conference call; and step S90: End the cluster conference, delete the calling group, the called group, and the virtual group. Proposed conference room extension code and the conference password.

Step (B) further includes setting the date and time of the meeting; and step (E) is to send the meeting call notification to all set participants by sending an email notification or an application notification.

In order to explain the method more clearly, the following is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with Figures 2A ~ 2D, and an illustration of the execution flow diagram of a preferred embodiment of Figure 4 is described below, which is described in step S20. The extension of the virtual conference room contains the identification code of the calling network switch 100. The IP telephone exchange (IP PBX) at each endpoint (decentralized) will set a fixed switchboard number for identification. For example, the identification of the calling network switch 100 The code is set to {* 120017}, that is, you can dial * 120017 with the call equipment to connect to the switchboard system of the calling network switch 100 to listen to the voice instructions, and choose to transfer to the extension 101 ~ 104 set by the system. Make a call. The identification code of another Internet telephone exchange 200 (called party) scattered in other areas is assumed to be {* 200008}, and there are three extensions 201 to 203 under it. In addition, the other participating members N of the external call are connected to the network switch through the public telephone network (PSTN) broadcast number. The Internet telephone exchanges (100, 200) use VOIP to broadcast connections through the Internet. This is the basic communication structure, so I won't go into details.

At the beginning of this method, at least one member of the calling network telephone exchange 100 (conference convener W) establishes a calling group (G1) 110 and edits a conference call notification, sets up a virtual conference room extension and a conference Password (step S20), the conference room extension contains the identification code {* 120017} of the calling network switch 100 plus a virtual extension number, such as {8008}, then the virtual conference room extension is {* 1200178008}, external The caller can dial the complete number to connect to the conference room, and the conference password can be set, so that the relevant person can join the conference through password verification; then set the caller's VoIP switch The extensions of the participating members (step S30) and the extensions of the participating members of at least one called party's Internet telephone switch 200 (step S40), as shown in the conference call notification list shown in FIG. 2A, the calling party's network Member W of the telephone exchange 100 (conference convener) initiates a conference convening through the application, establishes a calling group (G1) 110 and edits the conference convening notice. The convener is {W}, and the caller's network switch 100 participates People have {X, Y Z} Three extensions of participating adults. In addition, the participating members {A, B, C} of the called IP telephone exchange 200 (entered their extensions), and defined the date and time of the meeting. After the editing is completed, the meeting call notification will be sent to all set participants {W, X, Y, Z, A, B, C} by sending email notification and / or application notification. group Only the convener {W} in group (G1) 110.

Next, after the participants of the called endpoints (calling end and called end) receive the meeting convening notice, they will join the meeting before the meeting time or when the meeting time is in progress. A meeting participation request and the caller will be sent. Internet telephone exchange 100, that is, the called participant's called participant calls the virtual conference room extension {* 1200178008} to connect to the conference room, while the calling party's called participant only needs to call the calling network switch 100 The internal direct extension (8008) can be connected to the conference room. When the calling VoIP switch 100 receives the conference participation request of the participating member, it judges that if the participating member {A, B, C} comes from the called VoIP switch 200, it transmits and establishes the called group. Notify the participating member and reject the request to participate in the meeting (that is, if the personal extension number is used to connect to the conference room, the request to participate in the conference is rejected, because this method restricts the connection to the conference room only through group calls), As shown in FIG. 2B, the called member {A} of the called network switch 200 calls the virtual conference room extension directly from the personal extension after receiving the conference call {* 1200178008} to join the conference room. (Send conference participation request), the calling network telephone exchange 100 judges and compares the participating member {A} as a convened member of the called network exchange 200, but the conference participation request is an individual call rather than a group call. When the group calls, it will send a notification to establish the called group to the participating member A and reject the meeting participation request. As shown in Figure 2C, the called participating member {A} of the called IP phone switch 200 receives the establishment Called group After knowing, a called group (G2) 210 is established through the application program at the called VoIP switch 200, and other participating members {B, C} of the called VoIP switch 200 are added to the called group. Group (G2) 210; In addition, if the calling VoIP switch 100 determines and compares that the participating member {X, Y, Z} is from the calling VoIP switch 100, it adds the participating member to the calling party. Call within group (G1) 110 (described in steps S60 to S70).

In the above steps S60 to S70, the process of establishing the called group (G2) 210 of the called party's Internet telephone exchange 200 is performed by the called party's participating members {A, B, C}. A "after initiating a conference participation request to the calling group (G1) 110 of the calling Internet telephone exchange 100, after receiving the notification that the calling Internet telephone exchange 100 requests the establishment of the called group (G2) 210, Established. This embodiment indicates that the called party participating member {A} is the first to request a conference to participate. Therefore, the called party participating member A establishes a called group on the called network telephone exchange 200. (G2) 210, and call other participating members {B, C} of the called party's Internet telephone exchange 200 to join the called group (G2) 210, and if the called party's participating member {B, C} does not join the called party Group (G2) 210 and directly calling the virtual conference room extension {* 1200178008} when initiating a conference participation request to the calling group (G1) of the calling party's Internet telephone switch 100, because the called party's Internet telephone switch 200 The application judges that the called party has established the called group (G2) 210, so it will send the participating members of the called party {B, C} Join the called group (G2) 210 and restrict it to broadcast the number to the virtual conference room by personal extension.

When the meeting time is up, the called group 210 broadcasts the virtual conference room extension {* 1200178008} as a group multicast number and connects with the calling group (G1) 110 for a group conference call, as shown in Figure 2D. As shown in the figure, the number is connected in the form of a group multicast number, instead of being broadcasted by an individual extension as traditionally (step S80), because the called group (G2) 210 has joined the called party's called members {A, B, C} is in it, so after the connection, it is equal to the called member {A, B, C} at the same time connected with the members in the calling group (G1) 110 collectively, forming a dispersed (Calling party, called party) The users of the Internet telephone exchanges 100 and 200 must join the same conference call by calling each other in a group (calling group 110, called group 210). The call mode can achieve the minimum bandwidth consumption (the entire group is equal to one extension, which occupies the bandwidth of one extension only). Because the bandwidth is occupied less, the quality of the call can be ensured.

Figures 3A-3B are schematic diagrams of the application of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. If the meeting convener W edits the meeting convening notice and sends it to all edited meeting participants, it is found that other relevant members have not been edited. The conference convener W may send the conference convening notice to other members who want to convene in other ways, so that other members can know the content of the conference convening and obtain the conference password to join the conference. Figure 3A shows that if there are other participating members N (not edited by the convenor of the meeting in the meeting convening notice at the beginning), when joining the meeting, the application program of the calling network switch 100 will first determine those Have other participants obtained the meeting password and verified the meeting password (see also Figure 4B), if other participating members N have received the meeting convening notice from the meeting convener W, then obtain the meeting password and pass the verification , Can also join the conference, and if the conference number is incorrect, it is judged that the non-conference participating member, and the incoming line is cut off after notification. The execution steps shown in FIG. 4B are schematic steps to avoid irrelevant members or external incoming calls, which may cause troubles caused by accidentally entering the conference by accidentally broadcasting the extension to the virtual conference room.

Figure 3B illustrates that the present invention uses the method described above to install an application on the Internet phone switch at each endpoint (decentralized) to execute the method. The method of group-to-group call can achieve the minimum consumption. Bandwidth (the entire group is equal to one extension, only occupying the bandwidth of one extension), because the bandwidth is less, it can also ensure the quality of the call, and this method can reach the number and participation of groups that are not limited to the connection Limits on the number of people. Among them, as described above, G1 is the calling group and G2 is the called group. To simplify the description, the called group G2 is connected to the calling group G1 by broadcasting the number through the group multicast number. The line is replaced by the dotted line L1 (it is connected by VOIP). At this time, the G8 group can also be directly connected to the called group G2 (the VoIP switch at this end). The G8 group is connected to the called group G2. The connection between them is the dotted line L2. If the G8 group wants to join the online conference between the calling group G1 and the called group G2, the G8 group does not need to replay the number to connect to the calling group G1 because Caller The group call between group G1 and called group G2 is online. The G8 group can be connected at the same time through the established connection (voice channel) L1 between the called group G2 and the calling group G1. In the conference call convened by the calling group G1, there is no need to bypass the G2 group from the G8 group and directly broadcast the number to connect to the calling group G1 (this method will be lost if the distance is very long or the signal is weak (Bandwidth), Figure 3B shows that through this method, the calling group G1, the called group G2, and the additional group G8 are all in the same conference call to reach all the VoIP switches in the communication architecture. (Each endpoint) The nearest endpoint can be cross-connected to the calling VoIP switch, and the minimum bandwidth consumption can be achieved by using a group-to-group call (the entire group is equal to one extension, occupying one extension). Bandwidth only), because the bandwidth occupied is small, the quality of the call can be ensured, and this method can be achieved without being limited by the number of connected groups and the number of participants.

Figure 4A shows the process in step S80 that includes: the process of determining whether the conference convener W is online. If the conference convener W is online, a cluster conference call is started; if the conference convener W is not online, a conference reminder is sent to the conference The convener W performs voice prompts and plays waiting music in the calling group G1, and then determines whether the conference convener W is online after a predetermined time, and then starts the cluster telephone conference call after the conference convener W is online.

When the cluster conference call ends, the calling group (G1) 110, the called group (G2) 210, the virtual conference room extension code {* 1200178008}, and the conference password are set (step S90). .

The foregoing illustration is only a simple illustration. In actual application, according to the technical content disclosed by the present invention, it is possible to achieve that the users of the network telephone exchanges scattered in different places can join the same conference call by way of group call with each other. The group-to-group call method consumes the minimum bandwidth, and because the bandwidth is less occupied, it can also ensure the quality and smoothness of the call, and it can achieve unlimited connection. The limitation of the number of online groups and participation is an innovative method. However, the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent changes and modifications in accordance with the shape, structure, characteristics, and spirit described in the scope of the patent application for the present invention are provided. Shall be included in the scope of patent application of the present invention.

Claims (6)

A distributed architecture method for cluster teleconference is used to enable the relevant members of the distributed network telephone exchange (called end) to form a group on the network telephone exchange and connect them collectively through group dialing. Conduct a conference call of the relevant member cluster in the conference group of the Internet telephone exchange (calling end) connected to the conference convener. The Internet telephone exchange has an application installed to perform the method. The method includes: (A ) At least one member of the VoIP switch at the calling end (conference convener) creates a calling group and edits a conference call notice; (B) sets a virtual conference room extension and a meeting password; (C) sets the host Participating member (extension) of the calling VoIP switch; (D) Setting at least one participating member (extension) of the called VoIP switch; (E) Sending the meeting call notification to the above-mentioned participating members; ( F) Receive the meeting participation request of the participating member, if the participating member comes from the called end VoIP switch, send a notification to establish the called group to the participating member and reject the meeting participation request; if the participation If the member comes from the calling VoIP switch, add the participating member to the calling group; (G) At least one participating member of the called VoIP switch establishes a called group and calls other The participating members of the calling VoIP switch join the called group; (H) the called group multicasts to the virtual conference room extension to connect with the calling group for a cluster conference call; and (I) ends In the cluster telephone conference, delete the calling group, the called group, the virtual conference room extension code, and the conference password. The method according to claim 1, wherein the virtual conference room extension includes the identification code of the calling terminal switch. The method according to claim 1, wherein step (B) further includes setting a meeting date and time. The method as described in item 1 of the request item, wherein step (E) is to send the conference call notification to all the participants who have been set up by sending an email notification or an application notification. The method as described in item 1 of the request, wherein step (H) further includes: (H1) judging whether the conference convener is online, if so, proceeding to step (H3), otherwise proceeding to steps (H2); (H2) sending the conference Prompt to the conference convener, perform voice prompts and play waiting music in the calling group, and return to steps (H1) and (H3) to start the cluster conference call after a predetermined time. The method as described in item 5 of the request item, wherein step (H3) further includes: (H31) receiving a meeting participation request of an unspecified participating member, requesting the input of the meeting password; (H32) verifying whether the meeting password is correct, if correct Add the unspecified participating member to the cluster telephone conference call, if not, reject the conference participation request and cut off the call.