Patent ID: 9544341
Date: 2017-01-10
CPC Classifications: H04L,H04M

Claim:
1. A conference server apparatus for facilitating a conference call, the apparatus comprising: a bridge controller to direct other components in the apparatus, the bridge controller communicatively coupled to a memory and a soft switch; the memory to store information for one or more components in the apparatus, the memory communicatively coupled to the bridge controller; the soft switch to (i) resolve dialed conference numbers to conference sessions managed by the conference server, (ii) establish call connections with telephones connected to the conference server apparatus through an associated switch, and (iii) establish call connections with at least one other conference server through at least one other softswitch associated with the at least one other conference server; and a media component to encode media data transmitted from the conference server apparatus to one or more other conference servers and to mix media data from n loudest participants to create outgoing mixed participant media data, and wherein the apparatus is configured to receive incoming mixed participant media data from the one or more other conference servers, which includes media data from another set of loudest participants, and to mix the incoming mixed participant media data with the outgoing mixed participant media data to provide a conference media stream that includes media data from a number of loudest participants that is greater than n.