RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This patent application claims the benefit of, including the filing date of, Provisional Application No. 60/261,141, entitled “One-Click Online Conference Calls”, filed Jan. 11, 2001. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to conference calls and, more particularly, to conference calls initiated online such as on the Internet.  
           [0004]    2. Background  
           [0005]    A need exists for simplifying the process for setting up a conference call, in real time, over a communications network. A further need exists for using an online communication network such as the Internet in placing such conference calls.  
           [0006]    An example of one conventional, online conferencing method is provided by Latitude Communications which is trademarked MEETINGPLACE. In this system, users schedule and attend voice and data conferences using MICROSOFT OUTLOOK client. This requires expensive software to be added at the customer site. Participants to a conference are automatically sent a message containing meeting and attendance information. Attending the conference occurs by clicking on an attendance URL and picking up a telephone.  
           [0007]    In US printed patent application publication number US 2001/0016038 A1, a personal web-based teleconferencing method and system is set forth. In this online approach, the user starts the conference process by listing his/her name, phone number and each participant by name and phone number in a screen form delivered to it by a WWW server. This is then delivered to the server and the user then fills out the credit card information. The user receives an icon not only for himself/herself, but also for each participant. The user begins the conference call by connecting him/herself to the teleconference by clicking on a supplied icon. The user then sequentially accesses the icon of each participant to join that participant into the conference call.  
           [0008]    A need exists for an easy-to-use, from the viewpoints of both the subscriber setting up the conference and each participant, method for setting up a conference in an online environment. A need also exists to accomplish this method without providing expensive resident software at the subscriber&#39;s (and/or participant&#39;s) site. A need exists to set up the conference through the conventional telecommunications system wherein the subscriber and participants select any suitable communication endpoints, such as a telephone, at the time of the conference. Finally, a need exists to set up a conference in such a way that conference system resources are not locked or reserved for the conference and, therefore, become unused when fewer people join the conference than were expected.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The method of the present invention establishes a conference call among a plurality of participants and a subscriber. The subscriber is assigned and provided a unique URL by a conferencing system. When the subscriber requests a conference call at a set time, the subscriber delivers the unique URL to each of a plurality of participants prior to the conference call such as, for example, by email distribution. Upon clicking on the delivered URL at the set time for the conference, each participant provides the necessary endpoint identity information (i.e., a telephone number) to the conferencing system. The conferencing system then connects the participant into the conference by calling the provided endpoint.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a global diagram showing the iconic hyperlink creation and distribution method of the present invention.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a global flow diagram showing the method for providing conferencing in the present invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a flow chart for the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is an embodiment of a subscriber database.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]    1. Overview.  
         [0015]    The following definitions are used herein with respect to the figures:  
         [0016]    Communication System  10 —A system that allows end-users to share information (voice, video, data, . . . ) with each other. Examples of a communication system include conventional telephone networks and the Internet.  
         [0017]    Conferencing System  120 —A conferencing system allows multiple participants to share data with other participants simultaneously in a conference in a communication system  10 . The data to be shared includes voice, video, a combination thereof or any other form of data. The type of data being shared in the conference is not germane to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0018]    Service Provider—The owner and/or operator of the conferencing system  120  who provides conferencing services to end-users.  
         [0019]    Subscriber  100 —The end-user who has obtained conferencing services from the service provider. The subscriber “owns” a conference account and is typically responsible for paying for conferencing services. The subscriber may be an individual person, a legal entity such as a corporate body, or some other entity such as a group of individuals.  
         [0020]    Participant(s)  130 —End-users other than the subscriber  100  who join in a conference with a subscriber  100 . Participants  130  typically do not own a conference account with the service provider. The list of participants who join in a conference is completely variable and does not need to have any commonality from conference to conference.  
         [0021]    Endpoint  100   b,    130   b —The communication device used by the subscriber  100  and participant  130  to transmit and receive data to/from the conference. In the case of an audio conference this device is typically a telephone. The type of endpoint used is conventional and is not germane to the present invention and includes, but not limited to, a cell phone, a web browser, etc.  
         [0022]    Conference Platform  140 —The component of the conferencing system  120 , to which the data sharing network connects. A conferencing system  120  includes one or more conferencing platforms  140 .  
         [0023]    Web Server  110 —The service provider runs a web server that is accessible to end-users. This access is typically done via the public Internet  30  for users outside the service provider&#39;s enterprise. This web server  110  provides external access to the conferencing system  120  via standard web browsers, and communicates to the conferencing system  120  via various Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).  
         [0024]    Access Codes—An identifying code used by the subscriber  100  and all participants  130  to connect to the conferencing system  120 . The complete set of access codes identifies which conference end-users  130  are to be joined to a conference call. In the case of audio-conferencing, these access codes are typically a dialed telephone number along with a series of Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) digits that are entered once a connection is established with the conferencing system  120 .  
         [0025]    All of the above definitions are conventionally known and the systems and components thereof are conventionally found in one form or another. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,181,786, for example, one conventional teleconferencing system is set forth. The present invention, as discussed in the following, incorporates those definitions.  
         [0026]    2. Creating and Distributing a URL Hyperlink  120  to the Subscriber  100   
         [0027]    The ironic hyperlink creation and distribution of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. An embodiment of a telecommunication system  10  is shown utilizing conventional PSTN  20  and Internet  30  components.  
         [0028]    A new or existing subscriber  100  is given access to conferencing services in conferencing system  120  via the conferencing access method of the present invention. Using account information for the subscriber  100 , a Universal Resource Locator (URL) hyperlink  102  is defined which uniquely identifies the subscriber  100 . The URL  102  when accessing the Internet  30  points to the web server  110  connected to the conferencing system  120 , and uniquely identifies that subscriber  100  to the conferencing system  120 .  
         [0029]    The URL  102  created is a unique hyperlink for each subscriber  100  on the conferencing system  120 . The URL  102  is mapped within the conferencing system  120  (or external devices connected to the conferencing system  120 ) to identify the subscriber  100  just as that subscriber&#39;s conventional unique access codes do.  
         [0030]    The process by which the URL hyperlink  102  is created may be initiated many different ways, manually or automatically, and is not defined as part of the present invention. The URL  102  hyperlink may be optionally combined with a graphical icon  103 .  
         [0031]    The URL  102  (with optional graphical icon  103 ) is distributed to the subscriber  100  by the conferencing system  120 . The distribution method is up to the service provider and is not defined or restricted within the scope of the present invention. Distribution methods which provide the URL  102  to the subscriber  100  include: as an attachment to an email sent to the subscriber from the conferencing system  120  (or agent of the system  120 ), placed on a web page where the subscriber may access and copy it (as illustrated as Step  1 , FIG. 1), etc.  
         [0032]    In FIG. 4, an embodiment of a database that uniquely identifies a subscriber to a URL  102  is shown. In FIG. 4, the URL  102  also has an associated icon  103 , which, under the teachings of the present invention, is optional. In FIG. 4, each subscriber  100  is identified as well as information concerning that subscriber such as found in the information field  400 . This field  400  includes any conventional information such as charging requirements, billing requirements, etc. Field  400  can also include the complete history of all conference calls made by the subscriber  100  in the past. It is to be expressly understood that the database configuration in FIG. 4 is but one embodiment and that many different database configurations could be used without limiting the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0033]    The URL link  102  identifies the subscriber  100 , not a specific conference. The subscriber  100 , i.e. the holder of the conferencing account can access the conferencing system  120  at any time. The URL  102 , in one embodiment of the present invention, can be used by the subscriber  100  for any number of conferences at any set times.  
         [0034]    3. Distributing the Hyperlink  102  to the Participants  130 .  
         [0035]    The method for distributing the hyperlink  102  to participants  130  is shown in FIG. 1. The subscriber  100  then makes the URL hyperlink  102  (and/or graphics  103 ) accessible to potential participants  130  of a conference call. Distribution is done by a number of different embodiments: by placing on a web page accessible to participants, as an attachment to an email sent to participants, or by some other means. The actual form of the delivery mechanism for the URL hyperlink  102  is not germane to the present invention (as illustrated as Step  2 , FIG. 1).  
         [0036]    4. Entering a Conference.  
         [0037]    The method of the present invention for entering a conference is shown in FIG. 2. A participant  130  wishes to join a conference and clicks on the distributed URL hyperlink  102  (or icon  103 ) representing the subscriber&#39;s account, which will host the conference (as illustrated as Step  1 , FIG. 2).  
         [0038]    The web server  110  responds to the URL  102  request by delivering to the web browser  130   a  of the end-user  130  a page/frame (or any other suitable information)  200  that asks that the participant  130  enter information that identifies how the conferencing system  120  can connect to the end-user&#39;s endpoint  130   b  (as illustrated as step  2  in FIG. 2). In the case of audio conferencing, the information  200  is typically the telephone number  210  of telephone  130   b  on which the participant  130  wishes to use in order to participate in the conference. The participant  130  enters his/her endpoint identification  210  and acknowledges  220  that it has been entered (as illustrated as Step  3 , FIG. 2). The clicking on acknowledgment  220  causes the endpoint identity information  210  to be provided to the conferencing system  120  through the Internet  30 .  
         [0039]    The conferencing system  120  responds to the request in Step  3  by connecting to the endpoint  130   b  using the supplied identification information  210 . In the case of audio conferencing, this is typically done by having the conferencing system  120  dial out to the phone number  210  entered by the end-user  130  through the PSTN  20  of the telecommunication system  10  to ring the telephone. When the telephone goes off-hook, the end-user  130  is connected to the conference through the telecommunication system  10 .  
         [0040]    The end-users (i.e., the subscriber  100  and all participants  130 ) use the same hyperlink  102  (and/or with optional icon  103 ). Multiple end-users  130  may activate the hyperlink  102  (Step  2 ) concurrently, and will all be processed as unique and independent entrants to the same conference. At the time of the conference, end-users can be anywhere. Under the teachings of the present invention, each end-user can enter endpoint identity information  210  that is most convenient. By way of example, each of four end-users for a conference may be at the following different locations at the set time for the conference: End-user A is at his office and enters his office phone number, end-user B is at her office and enters her cell phone number, end-user C is at home and uses the softphone in her computer through a soft phone icon  20 , and end-user D is at the airport and, using a computer at a kiosk, enters his cell phone number.  
         [0041]    Neither the subscriber  100 , nor the creator of the URL  102  (conferencing system  120 ), determines what type of endpoint will be specified when the URL  102  is used by end-users of the URL  102 . These end-users select the endpoint identification data  210  to enter at the time they wish to be connected. The URL  102  can also specify different types of endpoints  100   b,    103   b,  for each end-user. One may select a desk phone, another a cell phone, and still another a pay phone.  
         [0042]    The above process also applies to the subscriber  100 . Hence, the subscriber  100  just before the set time for the conference clicks on the URL  102  and is delivered the page/frame  200  to fill out the necessary information. This allows the subscriber, at the time of the conference, to be at any suitable location and not locked in to a specific endpoint  100   b  nor a requirement that it be set up in advance.  
         [0043]    The phrase “at the time of the conference” is used functionally to indicate the time of occurrence, in a general sense, of the conference. While the conference can be scheduled by the subscriber  100   b  for a “set time” (i.e.,  9  a.m.), the conference can be accessed by the end-users at the set time which includes accessing before, precisely at the set time, or after the set time. Further, the conferencing system  120  does not need a reservation for the “set time”. The URL  102  is active all the time. The subscriber  100  and the participants  130  can decide when (and that can be at anytime) to have a conference.  
         [0044]    5. Flow Chart and Examples.  
         [0045]    In FIG. 3, another representation of the method of the present invention is set forth. The method starts  300  by the subscriber  100  conventionally initially accessing with the conference system  120 . In stage  310 , if the subscriber  100  is already registered with the conferencing system, then stage  330  is entered. If not, the subscriber  100  in stage  320  registers with the system  120  which also occurs in a conventional fashion for conferencing systems  120 . The subscriber  100  provides all necessary information including charge information, maximum size of conference permitted, etc. The present invention is not limited as to how a subscriber accesses and/or registers with the conferencing system  120  in stage  320 .  
         [0046]    In stage  330 , the subscriber  100  is assigned in the web server  110  a unique URL  102  and/or any associated graphical icon  103 . In the conferencing system  120 , the subscriber  100  is now fully identified with the URL  102  and/or graphical icon  103 . It is to be understood that the URL  102  (or icon  103 ) can be the same for the subscriber  100  for all conferences. Of course, if the subscriber requires a different URL, then a different URL can be assigned. The web server  110  provides the assigned unique URL through the Internet  30  to the subscriber  100 .  
         [0047]    Before a conference is to be held, the subscriber  100  distributes the URL  102  in stage  340  to all participants  130  to the conference call. This occurs in a fashion already described such as, but not limited to, by email distribution. In stage  350  the participants  130  receiving the URL  102  (and/or icon  103 ) will click on the distributed URL  102  and then be asked to provide the necessary endpoint information  210  in order to participate in the conference call. The conferencing system  120  receives the provided endpoint information  210  in stage  360  and at the set time of the conference connects all participants  130  and the subscriber to the conference.  
         [0048]    A conference is activated when the conferencing system  120  receives the first access on the subscriber&#39;s URL  102  over the Internet  30  in the telecommunication system  10  from an end-user whether it be the subscriber  100  or a participant  130 . The endpoint identity information  210  filled out for the first access is used by the conferencing system to set up the necessary bridges in the conferencing platform  140  and to connect that first end-user to the conference. Each subsequent end-user accessing the web server  110  of the conferencing system  120  by clicking on the subscriber&#39;s URL  102  (or icon  103 ) is requested  200  to provide the endpoint identity information  210  and the identified endpoint  100   b,    130   b  is then called and when answered connecting the endpoint to the conference. It is well known how to set up conferences in a conferencing system  120  and then to connect endpoints of end-users to the conference.  
         [0049]    For example, the subscriber  100  wants to have a conference call with participants A, B, C, and D on Monday at a set time of 9:00 a.m. The subscriber  100  distributes  340  his/her unique URL  102  to participants A, B, C, and D advising them of the 9:00 a.m. conference call. The conferencing system  120  has no “reservation data” for this conference. Should an individual participant  130  wish to participate in a conference call, the subscriber  100  clicks on the unique URL  102  (and/or icon  103 ) at 9:00 a.m. and provides endpoint information  210  describing how they could be contacted for that call. End-users (i.e., subscriber  100  and participants  130 ) click the URL when they want the system to call them, not before. If they want to join five minutes early, they would click at 8:55. If they want to join right at 9:00 a.m., they click at 9:00 a.m. If they want to join five minutes later, they would click at 9:05 a.m.  
         [0050]    The method of the present invention leaves it to the end-user to control, in real time, when to be connected to the conference. Clicking the URL is akin to picking up the phone and dialing, it takes place immediately. The first end-user to click on the URL  102  provides the first data to the conferencing system  120  that the subscriber  100  is responsible for an impending conference. All end-users of the link dynamically choose when they wish to click on the URL  102  and join the conference. In the preferred embodiment, it is the telephone  100   b,    130   b  that is called by the conferencing system  120 . In another embodiment, a soft-phone running in a PC (e.g. web browser  130   a ) accesses the conference. Both of these are classified as endpoints.  
         [0051]    Once delivery of the URL  102  has been made to participants for a given conference, it is not necessary to re-deliver the URL  102  for future conferences. In the above example, the subscriber concludes the 9:00 a.m. conference by telling “B” and “D” to conference at 2:00 p.m. that same day. At the set time for the next conference the “subscriber”, “B”, and “D” click on the URL  102  and are connected into the 2:00 p.m. conference.  
         [0052]    In another example, assume a financial website sets up audio chat rooms to discuss a specific investing topic or to have a consultant available to answer questions. The financial website is the subscriber  100  and through the process discussed in FIGS. 1 and 2 and in stages  300  through  330  has assigned to it a unique URL icon  103 . Participants  130  can join the conference at the appropriate time by clicking on the financial website assigned icon and by providing endpoint information. If too many click on the URL  102 , that is equivalent to too many participants  130  dialing in. They will be told that the capacity of the system  120  has been exceeded. The limit is defined as the number of participants the subscriber is allowed to have join his/her conference, and is set up when the subscriber  100  is first given access to the conferencing system  120 . For example, assume a maximum conference size of 12 participants. If a  13   th  person tried to join the conference, then they would be turned away with a suitable message or recording. The “capacity exceeded” functionality is not unique to the conferencing method of the present invention, but rather is part of the conventional conferencing environment.  
         [0053]    The above disclosure sets forth a number of embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in this art will however appreciate that other arrangements or embodiments, not precisely set forth, could be practiced under the teachings of the present invention and that the scope of this invention should only be limited by the scope of the following claims.
The method of the present invention establishes a conference among a plurality of participants and a subscriber. The subscriber is assigned a unique URL by a conferencing system. When the subscriber sets up a conference, the subscriber delivers the unique URL to each of a plurality of participants prior to the conference such as by email distribution. Upon activating the delivered URL, each end-user (i.e. The subscriber and participants) provides the necessary endpoint (i.e., a telephone number) identity information to enable it to participate in the upcoming conference. The conferencing system then sets up the conference based upon all of the entered endpoint identification submitted.