Telephone terminal controlled conference inspection

A telephone terminal storing conferee identification information received from other telephone terminals on a conference call and responding to actuation of an inspect button to display the identification information of each conferee. As each new telephone terminal is added to the conference call, the new telephone terminal transmits its conferee identification information to the telephone terminals already on the conference call, and those telephone terminals automatically display the identification information of the new conferee. Also, the coordinator of the conference call is so designated when the coordinator's identification information is displayed on one of the telephone terminals.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
This invention relates to telecommunication conference calls, and in 
particular, to the identification of conferees on a telecommunication 
conference call by a telephone terminal. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In prior art business communication switching systems (also referred to as 
PBXs), a conference call can be set up between a plurality of telephone 
stations sets. However, even with a station set that has a single-line 
alphanumeric display, the users on the conference call can not display the 
names and telephone number of the other parties on that conference call. 
If a conferee joins a conference call after the conference call has been 
established, the joining conferee has no mechanism for establishing who is 
on the conference call except by asking each of the other conferees to 
give their names. Similarly, if a conferee drops off of the conference 
call, without stating that they are dropping off, the other conferees have 
no way of determining that the conferee has dropped off of the conference 
call. 
Within the AT&T long distance telephone network, a teleconferencing service 
known as the Alliance Dedicated Teleconferencing Service is available. The 
Alliance service comprises a teleconferencing bridge connected to a 4ESS 
toll switch. On the Alliance service, conference calls are set up and 
controlled by AT&T operators who can obtain a visual display of the 
individuals on the conference by name and telephone number. In an attempt 
to improve upon the Alliance service, U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,293 discloses 
interposing a service computer between a coordinator of a conference call 
and the Alliance service. The service computer uses the same interface 
into the Alliance service as that of an AT&T operator terminal. The 
service computer takes the place of the AT&T operator and gives the 
coordinator an improved human interface to the Alliance service. In order 
to establish communication with the service computer, the coordinator is 
required to use a separate packet data system to establish communication 
between the service computer and the coordinator's computer terminal. Once 
this communication has been established, the coordinator has the same 
capability as the AT&T operator. 
The problems in the prior art are (1) the lack of the capability to inspect 
the identity of the parties on a conference call in business 
communications switching systems, and (2) the need in the system disclosed 
by U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,293 for a separate service computer which requires 
interconnection via a separate packet network. Further, in the case of 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,293, the conference call must begin on a dedicated 
bridge for which advance reservations are required. 
What is needed is a mechanism for a telephone terminal having only a 
single-line alphanumeric display to be able to step through the identity 
of each of the conferees on the conference call. In addition, the 
telephone terminal should control the inspection operation and should 
receive the identifies of the other conferees using standard telephone 
protocols without the necessity of having a separate packet network. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The foregoing problems are solved and a technical advance is achieved by a 
telephone terminal that stores conferee identification information 
received from other telephone terminals and is responsive to actuation of 
an inspect button to display identification information for each conferee. 
In addition, in an established conference call, as each new conferee is 
added to the conference call, the telephone terminals of the other 
conferees automatically display identification information for the new 
conferee. Also, the coordinator of the conference call is so designated, 
when identification information for the coordinator is displayed on the 
telephone terminal. Advantageously, the operations performed by the 
telephone terminals can be performed by a telecommunication switching 
system for the telephone terminals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
FIG. 1 illustrates a telecommunication switching system where station sets 
101 through 104 are interconnected by switch 107. Stations sets 101,102, 
and 104 are identical to station set 103 which is illustrated in greater 
detail. The basic operations of switch 107 and the telephone stations sets 
are described in further detail in the U.S. patent application of B. M. 
Bales, et al. entitled "Automatic Initialization of a Distributed 
Telecommunication System", Case 9-5-5-5, Ser. No. 07/816360, filed on Dec. 
30, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,466, and having the same assignee as the 
present patent application. This patent is hereby incorporated by 
reference. Both the station sets and the switch implement a conventional 
OSI model modified to implement the ISDN protocol. As set forth in the 
above-incorporated patent application, certain modifications have been 
made to the standard OSI model in order to include ISDN capabilities. 
Within the software model, there are eight software layers, each of these 
software layers is described in detail in the above-incorporated patent 
application. (Note, that the OSI model is also designated as having seven 
layers where the highest layer combines layers seven and eight of the 
description in the present application.) The present application is 
presented in terms of the highest software layer, applications software 
layer, and assumes the details set forth in the above-incorporated patent 
application. In addition, the functions performed by the remaining 
software layers such as system initialization, call routing, and message 
transmission is also set forth with respect to the above-incorporated 
patent application. 
The present invention is now described by way of an example. This example 
assumes that station set 101 performs the necessary operations to allow a 
meet-me-conference call to be set up on switch 107 between station sets 
101 and 104 as illustrated in FIG. 1. While the meet-me-conference call is 
being set up and after station set 103 is added to the conference call, 
the example describes the information that is displayed on alphanumeric 
display 109 of station set 103. After the meet-me-conference call is fully 
established, the example describes how the user of station set 103 can 
utilize inspect button 108 to sequentially display the identity of the 
users of the station sets which are on the meet-me-conference call. 
Station sets 101,102 and 104 have the same physical layout as station set 
103. The other station sets do have different telephone numbers for their 
line appearances. For example, station set 103 utilizes the telephone 
number 469-2110 for line appearance 113; whereas, station set 101 uses 
telephone number 469-2001 for the same line appearance. (Note, that line 
appearance 113 only has the last four digits of the telephone number 
written on it.) 
As is described in greater detail in latter paragraphs, the user station 
set 101 initiates the meet-me-conference by actuating the 
meet-me-conference button (similar to meet-me-conference button 110). The 
meet-me-conference will be enabled on the active line appearance for 
telephone number 469-2001 (similar to line appearance button 113). (A line 
appearance is made active by actuating the button associated with it.) 
Next, the user of station set 102 originates a call to station set 101 
utilizing the 469-2001 telephone number and is added into the 
meet-me-conference by station set 101. Second, the user of station set 103 
originates a call to station set 101 utilizing the 469-2001 telephone 
number and is added into the meet-me-conference call. Third, the user of 
station set 104 originates a call to station set 101 using the 469-2001 
telephone number and is added into the meet-me-conference call by station 
set 101. Also, when station set 104 is added into the meet-me-conference 
call, the user's name and telephone number for station set 104 is 
displayed on alphanumeric display 109 of station set 103. The same 
information is displayed on the alphanumeric display of station set 102. 
Similarly, when station set 103 was added to the meet-me-conference, the 
user's name and number was displayed on the alphanumeric display of 
station set 102. 
Finally, the user of station set 101 goes off hook and is automatically 
added to the meet-me-conference call. Again, when station set 101 is added 
to the meet-me-conference call, the user's name and telephone number for 
station set 101 is displayed on alphanumeric display 109 of station set 
103. The same information is displayed on the alphanumeric displays of 
station sets 102 and 104. 
After station sets 101 through 104 are connected to the meet-me-conference 
call, each of the station sets has stored internally the records 
illustrated in FIG. 3. The user of station set 103 can sequentially step 
through the names and the telephone numbers associated with each station 
set on the meet-me-conference call as stored in party record 308 of FIG. 3 
by repeatedly actuating inspect button 108. In the present example, since 
the coordinator of the conference call, John Doe, was the last person to 
enter the meet-me-conference call, John Doe's name and number are 
displayed on alphanumeric display 109. If the user of station set 103 
actuates inspection button 108, the name, Dick Jones, and telephone number 
469-2010 are displayed on alphanumeric display 109. The next actuation of 
inspect button 108 results in the name and telephone number of Sally Smith 
being displayed on alphanumeric display 109. Finally, if inspect button 
108 is actuated again, the name and telephone number of John Doe is 
displayed again on alphanumeric display 109. 
FIG. 4 illustrates, in block diagram form, the internal circuits of station 
set 103. Station sets 101,102, and 104 have the same internal structure. 
ISDN interface 404 implements the physical layer of the OSI model and is 
one of a number of commercially available ISDN chips. Microcomputer 401 
implements the remaining seven layers of OSI model by the execution of 
programs in memory 402. Specifically, the terminal manager and conference 
manager applications are stored in memory 402. In addition, the conference 
records and parties records are also stored in memory 402. Microcomputer 
401 controls alphanumeric display 109 and indicator lights on the station 
set via I/O circuit 403; and microcomputer 401 interrogates the state of 
the buttons and keypad on the station set via I/O circuit 403. The user of 
station set 103 utilizes handset 112 to carry on a telephone conversation. 
Microcomputer 401 can be any number of commercially available 
microcomputers. In addition, during the autoinitiation sequence which is 
described in the incorporated patent application, microcomputer 401 in 
conjunction with ISDN interface 404 executes the autoinitiation functions 
by executing programs stored in memory 402. 
The meet-me-conference is set up by the message flow illustrated in FIG. 2. 
Within the message diagrams of FIG. 2, the designations A, B, C, and D, 
refer to station sets 101, 102, 103, and 104, respectively. Station set 
102 first sends a setup message, as illustrated in line 201, to station 
set 101. The setup message contains the destination which is station set 
101, the originator which is station set 102, and includes the 
alphanumeric name of the user of station set 102. Station set 101 responds 
in line 202 by transmitting a call proceeding message back to station set 
102. Station set 101 then transmits the alerting message back to station 
set 102 in line 203. The alerting message contains the telephone number 
(address) and the alphanumeric name of the user of station set 101. 
Station set 101 does give an audible alerting tone until a predetermined 
amount of time has elapsed or the user answers. Next, station set 101 
transmits back on line 204 a connect message. In the present example, the 
user of station set 101 has not gone off hook yet. Switch 107 is 
responsive to the connect message to set up a voice path between station 
set 101 and station set 102. Station set 102 is responsive to the connect 
message from station set 101 to transmit back the connection 
acknowledgment message in line 205. 
Station set 103 originates another call to station set 101 in lines 206 and 
207. Station set 101 is responsive to the call from station set 103 to 
invoke a meet-me-conference call. By transmission of the merge message of 
line 208, station set 101 requests that switch 107 merge the first and the 
second calls together. The merge function is different than a conference 
function in that switch 107 only combines the B channels (voice portions) 
associated with the two calls for transmission to each of the three 
station sets and not the D channels (signaling portions). The signaling 
from station sets 102 and 103 is only transmitted to station set 101, 
which allows station set 101 to retain control of the meet-me-conference. 
In response to the merge message of line 208, switch 107 performs a merge 
function and transmits back the merge acknowledgment message of line 209. 
After receipt of the merge acknowledgment message, station set 101 
transmits to station set 102 in line 210 a notify message which informs 
station set 102 that the second party (P=2, with 2 being the I.D. number) 
on the conference is station set 103 and that station set 101 is the 
controlling station set (CP=A). Similarly, station set 101 transmits to 
station set 103 a notify message in line 211 that informs station set 103 
that the first party on the meet-me-conference is station set 102 and 
provides the name of the user of station set 102 to station set 103. In 
line 212, station set 101 transmits back an alerting message and provides 
its station set number as well as the name of the user of station set 101 
to station set 103. In addition, station set 101 transmits a notify 
message to inform station set 102 of the fact that station set 101 is 
being alerted. Then, station set 101 transmits back the connect message in 
line 214 to station set 103. Station set 101 also transmits a notify 
message in line 216 to station set 102 informing it that the second party 
is now connected. Station set 103 is responsive to the connect message to 
transmit back the connect acknowledge message in line 215. 
After station sets 102 and 103 have entered the meet-me-conference, the 
user of station set 101 goes off hook on the line appearance and is 
automatically placed in the meet-me-conference. Note, that the messages of 
lines 204 and 208 had already added station set 101 to the 
meet-me-conference. The notify messages of fines 217 and 218 inform 
station sets 102 and 103 that station set 101 is now a party to the 
meet-me-conference. 
To enter the meet-me-conference, station set 104 transmits the setup 
message illustrated in line 221 of FIG. 2 to establish a call between 
station set 101 and station set 104. Station set 101 responds with the 
call proceeding message of line 222 and the merge message of line 223. 
Switch 107 is responsive to the merge message to transmit the merge 
acknowledge message in line 224. Station set 101 informs station sets 102 
and 103 that station set 104 is being connected into the 
meet-me-conference by transmission of the notify messages of lines 225 and 
226. 
Station set 101 then transmits the alerting message of line 227 to station 
set 104. Station set 101 transmits the notify messages of lines 234 and 
235 to inform station set 104 of the users of station sets 102 and 103, 
respectively. In addition, station set 101 notifies station sets 102 and 
103 that station set 101 is being alerted by lines 228 and 229. Next, 
station set 101 transmits the connect message to switch 107 and station 
set 104, and receives the connect acknowledgment message back from switch 
107 by the connect acknowledge message of line 231. Station set 104 is now 
part of the meet-me-conference, and station set 101 transmits the notify 
messages of lines 232 and 233 to station sets 102 and 103, respectively, 
to inform these station sets of this fact. 
FIG. 3 illustrates the records which have been set up in station sets 101 
through 104 in response to the messages of FIG. 2. The records and 
managers are located at the highest software layer, the application layer, 
of the software structure of the station sets. As is described in greater 
detail later, the terminal manager application invokes the 
meet-me-conference manager application upon actuation of the 
meet-me-conference button on station set 101. Each terminal manager 
application maintains a party record for each half of the call in which 
the terminal manager application is involved. Each party record contains a 
record of the names of users and addresses (telephone numbers) of the 
parties on the other half of the call. For example, party records 302, 
303, and 314 contain the name and telephone number of the users of station 
sets 102, 103, and 104, respectively. Station sets 102, 103, and 104 
reflect in their party records (306, 308 and 313, respectively) the 
station set that is the controlling station set and the sub-party station 
set. In party record 306, the name and telephone number for station set 
101 have an asterisk before them denoting the controlling party. 
FIG. 3 only illustrates the logical message channels (such as logical 
channel 310) that are established between the station sets via switches. 
These logical channels allow the communication of messages between 
terminal managers. The manner in which these logical channels are 
established is set forth in the above-incorporated patent application. In 
addition, the switches are responsive to connect messages to establish 
voice channels between station sets. The manner in which voice channels 
are established and terminated is also set forth in the above-incorporated 
patent application. 
Within station set 101, meet-me-conference manager application 304 
maintains conference record 301 which maintains the ID numbers utilized to 
identify the different users on the meet-me-conference call as well as the 
station set associated with that user. Terminal manager application 305 is 
responsive to messages related to a meet-me-conference to relay those 
messages to meet-me-conference manager application 304. These 
identification numbers were included in the notify messages of FIG. 2. In 
addition, meet-me-conference manager application 304 can directly access 
party records 302, 303, and 314, and terminal manager application 305 can 
directly access conference record 301. In party record 306 of station set 
102, station set 101 is designated as controlling the meet-me-conference 
and station set 103 is designated as being a sub-party. 
Station set 102 builds party record 306 in response to the set-up message 
in line 201 of FIG. 2. Since station set 102 sent the set-up message to 
station set 101, station set 102 assumes that station set 101 is the 
master station set if a subsequent conference call is set up. The entry of 
the name and telephone number of the user of station set 103 into party 
record 306 occurs when station set 102 receives the notification messages 
illustrated in lines 210, 213 and 216 of FIG. 2. These three notification 
messages inform station set 102 that station set 103 is the second party 
on the meet-me-conference call and give the name and telephone number for 
station set 103. Party records 308 and 313 in station sets 103 and 104 are 
built in a similar manner as party record 306. 
FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate, in flow chart form, the conference inspection 
functions performed by terminal manager application 309 of station set 103 
of the present example. Also, FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate how the functions 
illustrated in message format on FIG. 2 are performed. As previously 
described, certain of the functions illustrated in FIG. 2 are performed by 
meet-me-conference manager application 304. The operations of terminal 
manager application 305 as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 send those 
functions to conference manager application 304. FIGS. 7 through 11 
illustrate, in flow chart form, those functions performed by conference 
manager application 304. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the "party pointer" is used to 
display party information, and the "number of parties" stores the total 
number of people on the meet-me-conference call. Also, in FIGS. 5 and 6, 
the control flag and the meet-me flag are used to control the 
meet-me-conference. When the control flag is set on a station set, this 
indicates that the station set is responsible for controlling the setting 
up of the meet-me-conference. In the following paragraphs, the controlling 
station set is station set 101. When the meet-me flag is set, this 
indicates that other station sets can join the meet-me-conference by 
calling the designated line appearance; however, when the meet-me flag is 
reset, this indicates that no more station sets can be added to the 
meet-me-conference. 
In FIG. 5, blocks 500 and 501 wait for a message to be received from 
another station set, a switch, or an internal message caused by the 
actuation of a button on this station set. When a message is received, 
control is transferred from block 501 to decision block 526. The latter 
decision block determines if the inspection button has been actuated on 
the station set. If the answer is yes, control is transferred to decision 
block 527 which determines if the party pointer is pointing to the maximum 
number of parties on the meet-me-conference call. If the answer is no, 
block 528 increments the party pointer. However, if the answer is yes, the 
party pointer is set to the first party in the party record. Next, control 
is transferred to decision block 531 which checks to see if the control 
flag is set. In the present example, if the control flag is set, this 
indicates that station set 101 is executing the program illustrated by the 
flow chart. If the control flag is not set, then the program is being 
executed by station set 102, 103, or 104. If the answer to decision block 
531 is yes, control is transferred to block 532. From FIG. 3 it can be 
seen that terminal manager of the controlling station set (station set 101 
) maintains a unique party record for each station set on the 
meet-me-conference call. Block 532 identifies the party record associated 
with the party pointer, and block 533 extracts the name and number from 
the identified party record. If the answer to decision block 531 was no, 
then the party pointer is simply used to extract the name and number from 
party record 308 of station set 103 for example. After the execution of 
either 533 or 534, control is transferred to block 631 of FIG. 6 where the 
extracted name and number are displayed on the numerical display of the 
station set executing the program represented by the flow chart of FIG. 5. 
Returning to decision block 526, if the answer is no, control is 
transferred to decision block 502. The latter decision block determines if 
the meet-me-conference button has been activated. If that button has been 
activated, control is transferred to decision block 503, which checks if 
the control flag is set. If the control flag is not set, control is 
transferred to block 504 which sets both the control and meet-me flags and 
reserves bearer capability for the meet-me-conference call. After 
receiving control from block 504, block 506 then starts the execution of 
meet-me-conference manager application 304. Returning to decision block 
503, if the control flag is set which indicates that this is the second 
actuation of the meet-me-conference button, control is transferred to 
block 507. Block 507 resets the meet-me flag resulting in all new incoming 
calls be excluded from the meet-me-conference. After execution of either 
block 506 or 507, control is transferred to block 500. 
Returning to decision block 502, if the result of this decision is no, 
control is transferred to decision block 508 which checks if the user of 
the station set has gone off hook. Recall that station set 101 does not 
have to be off hook on the line appearance that is being used to establish 
the meet-me-conference while the other station sets are calling that line 
appearance to be added into the meet-me-conference. If user of station set 
101 does place a call to another station set (for example station set 104) 
using the line appearance on which the meet-me-conference capability has 
been established, as station sets 102 and 103 call that line appearance, 
station sets 102 and 103 are automatically added to the existing call 
between station sets 101 and 104. However, station set 101 does reserve 
signaling and bearer capability for when the user does go off hook. If the 
station set has gone off hook, control is transferred from decision block 
508 to decision block 523. If the control flag is not set, decision block 
523 transfers control to block 524 which processes the off hook in a 
normal manner before transferring control to block 500. If the control 
flag is set, control is transferred to block 509 which in turn invokes 
meet-me-conference manager application 304. The functions of block 509 
with respect to meet-me-conference manager application 304 are given in 
greater detail in FIG. 7. These functions join the controlling station 
into the meet-me-conference and transmit notify messages to the other 
station sets on the meet-me-conference call informing them that the 
controlling station set is now present on the meet-me-conference call. 
Returning now to decision block 508, if the result of this decision block 
is no, decision block 511 is executed to determine if the disconnect 
button has been activated on the station set. If the disconnect button has 
been activated, block 512 is executed. The functions performed by the 
meet-me-conference manager application in response to the execution of 
block 512 are illustrated in FIG. 8. These functions consist of 
terminating a designated station set from the meet-me-conference call and 
transmitting notify messages to the remaining station sets informing them 
that the designated station set has been disconnected. In addition, the 
meet-me-conference and party records are updated. As part of this 
updating, the terminal managers in each of the remaining station sets 
renumber the parties to provide continuous, sequential party numbers. 
Blocks 536 through 544 display user information for the next sequential 
party after the disconnected party. If the disconnected party had the 
highest party number, information on party 0 is displayed. 
Returning to decision block 511, if the result is no, control is 
transferred to decision block 513. The latter decision block determines 
whether the user of the station set wishes to disconnect from the call. If 
the answer is yes, control is transferred to decision block 514 which 
checks to see if the control flag is set indicating that the station set 
is the controlling station set (station set 101 ). If the control flag is 
set, control is transferred to block 516. Block 516 invokes 
meet-me-conference manager application 304 to perform the functions 
illustrated in FIG. 9. These functions disconnect all parties from the 
meet-me-conference and remove party records 302 and 303 and 
meet-me-conference record 301 as illustrated for station set 101 in FIG. 
3. After these functions have been performed by meet-me-conference manager 
application 304, control is transferred to block 546 of FIG. 5 which 
blanks the alphanumeric display. 
Returning to decision block 514, if the control flag is not set, indicating 
that the station set is not station set 101 of the present example, 
control is transferred to block 517 which transmits a disconnect message 
disconnecting the station set from the meet-me-conference call and 
transfers control to block 518 which removes the party record associated 
with the meet-me-conference call. From block 518, control is transferred 
to block 546. 
Blocks 536 through 544 display the name and number of the party pointed to 
by the party pointer. Decision block 536 determines whether the party 
pointer is pointing to the last party in the party record. If the answer 
is yes, the party pointer is set to "0" and control is passed to decision 
block 539. However, if the answer is no, control is passed to block 539. 
Decision block 539 determines whether the control flag is set, if the 
control flag is set, blocks 541 and 542 are utilized to extract the name 
and number from the party record identified by the party pointer. However, 
if the answer is no, block 543 is used to extract the name and number of 
the party identified by the party pointer from the party record. Block 544 
displays the extracted name and number on the alphanumeric display of the 
station set. 
Returning to decision block 513, if the result of the decision is no, 
control is transferred to decision block 519. If it is a message from the 
user, control is transferred to block 521 which processes this message in 
a normal manner. If the result of decision block 519 is no, control is 
transferred to decision block 601 of FIG. 6. 
In FIG. 6, if a setup message was received, control is transferred from 
decision block 601 to block 602 which creates a party record. Next, 
decision block 603 is executed to determine if the control flag is set, 
indicating that station set 101 of the present example is executing the 
terminal manager application. If the control flag is set, block 604 is 
executed which results in meet-me-conference manager application 304 
performing the functions as detailed in FIG. 10. Then control is 
transferred to block 621 which together with blocks 622 through 631 
displays the party information pointed to by the party pointer which is 
set to the party number (current party) that is assigned by the terminal 
manager in setting up the party record. If the control flag is not set, 
control is immediately transferred to block 621 from decision block 603. 
Note that the transmission of the call proceeding messages of FIG. 2 is 
performed in a lower software layer. 
Returning to decision block 601, if the result of this decision block is 
no, control is transferred to decision block 606. If the message is an 
alerting message, decision block 606 transfers control to decision block 
607 which determines if the control flag is set. If the control flag is 
not set, control is transferred to block 609 which updates the party 
record to show the new state as the alerting state. Block 609 then 
transfers control to block 621. Returning to decision block 607, if the 
control flag is set, control is transferred to block 608, which results in 
meet-me-conference manager application 304 performing the functions 
illustrated in FIG. 11 before transferring control to block 621. 
Returning to decision block 606, if the result of this decision block is 
no, control is transferred to decision block 611, which checks if the 
message is a notify message. If the message is a notify message, control 
is transferred to decision block 633, which checks if the notify message 
is specifying that the party has disconnected. If the party has 
disconnected, this fact is displayed by block 634. Regardless of the 
result of decision block 633, control eventually is transferred to 
decision block 607, whose functions have already been described. 
If the result of decision block 611 is no, control is transferred to 
decision block 612, which checks if the message is a connect message. If 
the answer is yes, block 613 is executed, which first sends a connect 
acknowledgement message back to the station set originating the connect 
message and then transfers control to decision block 607, whose functions 
have already been described. If the result of decision block 612 is no, 
control is transferred to decision block 614, which checks if a merge 
acknowledge message was received. If the answer is yes, control is 
transferred to decision block 607, whose functions have been previously 
described. 
If the result obtained by decision block 614 is no, control is transferred 
to decision block 616, which checks to see if a disconnect message was 
received. If the answer is no, control is transferred to block 617, which 
processes all other messages in a normal manner before transferring 
control to block 500 of FIG. 5 via connector A. If a disconnect message 
was received, decision block 616 transfers control to decision block 618. 
If the control flag is set, decision block 618 transfers control to block 
605 which displays the current party (party sending disconnect message) as 
having disconnected and transfers control to block 604, whose functions 
had been previously described. If the control flag is not set, control is 
transferred to block 619 which displays the fact that the current party 
has disconnected on the alphanumeric display. Block 619 then passes 
control to block 620, which removes the party record. 
Blocks 621 through 631 display the name and number of the current party. 
Block 621 sets the party pointer to the current party which is the party 
that sent the message. Control is then passed to decision block 624. 
Decision block 624 determines whether the control flag is set, if the 
control flag is set, blocks 626 and 628 are utilized to extract the name 
and number from the party record identified by the party pointer. However, 
if the answer is no, block 629 is used to extract the name and number of 
the party identified by the party pointer from the party record. Block 63 
1 displays the extracted name and number on the alphanumeric display of 
the station set. 
The following is a discussion of the functions performed by 
meet-me-conference manager application 304 of FIG. 3 as illustrated in 
FIGS. 7 through 11. FIG. 7 is executed in the present examples when it is 
determined that the user of station set 101 has gone off hook. Block 702 
requests that terminal manager application 305 join the station set into 
the meet-me-conference call. Recall that the signaling and bearer 
capabilities had already been reserved for station set 101 to enter the 
meet-me-conference call by block 504 of FIG. 5. Next, block 703 causes 
notify messages to be sent to the other station sets on the 
meet-me-conference call, advising them of the fact that the station set 
101 is now part of the meet-me-conference call. Finally, block 704 returns 
control to terminal manager application 305. 
FIG. 8 illustrates the functions performed by meet-me-conference manager 
application 304 in response to terminal manager application 305 detecting 
that the disconnect button had been activated. The disconnect button is 
associated with a particular station set presently on the 
meet-me-conference call. In the present example, this association is 
performed by the user of station set 101 displaying that user's name on 
the alphanumeric display before the disconnect button is activated. Block 
802 disconnects that associated station set by transmission of a 
disconnect message to the lower software layers. Block 803 sends notify 
messages to the other parties advising them of the fact that the 
associated station set has been disconnected. Block 804 removes reference 
to the associated station set from conference record 304 and from the 
appropriate party record. Finally, block 805 returns control to terminal 
manager application 305. 
FIG. 9 illustrates the operations performed by meet-me-conference manager 
application 304 in response to terminal manager 305 detecting that station 
set 101 has hung up. Block 902 sends disconnect messages to all parties on 
the meet-me-conference call, and block 903 removes all party and 
conference records from station set 101 associated with the 
meet-me-conference call. Finally, block 904 returns control to terminal 
manager application 305. 
FIG. 10 illustrates the functions performed by meet-me-conference manager 
application 304 when terminal manager application 305 has detected the 
receipt of either a setup message or a disconnect message. Decision block 
1002 determines whether a setup message has been received and transfers 
control to decision block 1003 if a setup message was received. Decision 
block 1003 checks the state of the meet-me flag. If the meet-me flag has 
been reset, this indicates that no more calls are allowed to join the 
meet-me-conference call, and the call is processed in a normal manner with 
respect to another line appearance. If the meet-me flag is set, then the 
station set transmitting the setup message is allowed to join the 
meet-me-conference call. If the flag has been reset, block 1004 transmits 
a busy message to the station set that had transmitted the setup message, 
unless there is an idle line appearance. If them is an idle line 
appearance, the call is transferred to that line appearance and is 
processed in the normal manner. If the meet-me flag is set, control is 
transferred to decision block 1006. This decision block determines whether 
the station set is the first party on the call or not. If it is the first 
party, block 1007 is executed to send a connect message back to the 
station set. However, if the station set is not the first party, block 
1008 sends a merge message to switch 107. Block 1009 transmits notify 
messages to the other parties on the meet-me-conference call and an 
alerting message back to the station set originating the setup message. 
Next, block 1007 is executed. Finally, block 1011 is executed to add the 
station set originating the setup message to meet-me-conference record 
301. 
Returning to decision block 1002, if the message is not a setup message, 
then it must be a disconnect message, and block 1012 is executed which 
transmits notify messages to the remaining station sets on the 
meet-me-conference call to inform them that the transmitting station set 
has dropped off of the call. Block 1013 removes the station set from the 
appropriate party record and block 1014 removes the references to the 
party from meet-me-conference record 301. Decision block 1015 determines 
if the last party has been removed from record 301. If the last party has 
been removed, blocks 1018, 1019, and 1020, reset the control flag, 
deactivate the conference management application, and remove the 
conference record, respectively. 
FIG. 11 illustrates the functions performed by meet-me-conference manager 
application 304 when terminal manager application 305 has detected an 
alerting message, notify message, connect message, or merge acknowledge 
message. If an alerting message has been detected, decision block 1102 
transfers control to block 1103. Block 1103 transmits notify messages to 
the other parties on the meet-me-conference call informing them that the 
party sending the alerting message is being alerted. If a notify message 
was detected, decision block 1104 transfers control to block 1106, which 
simply repeats the notify message to the other parties on the 
meet-me-conference call. If either a connect or merge acknowledge message 
was detected, block 1108 sends notify messages to the other parties on the 
meet-me-conference call, informing them that the sending party is joining 
the meet-me-conference call. Finally, block 1111 transfers control back to 
terminal manager application 305. 
Although the conference inspection has been described with respect to a 
meet-me-conference, one skilled in the art could readily apply it to other 
types of conferences. 
The present embodiment discloses displaying user information for the most 
recently added station set on the alphanumeric displays of the other 
active station sets on the conference. An alternate embodiment would only 
display the number of parties on the conference on the alphanumeric 
displays as a party was added, and the parties would have to use the 
inspection button to obtain user information. 
Further, it would be apparent to one skilled in the art that the 
meet-me-conference manager and terminal manager programs could be executed 
for each individual station set by a switching node.