Abstract:
An automated teleconferencing control system and method reduces conference call setup time by simultaneously out dialing to multiple conferees through a plurality of parallel telecommunications resources. The teleconferencing control system includes the feature of automatically gathering statistics of each connection attempt, as well as many other call aspects, using these statistics to automatically improve the efficiency of subsequent conference call initiations. Gathered statistics are also used to automatically configure the system to cause all of the conferees to be connected to a conference call at substantially the same time. The selection of which telecommunications resources are used for contacting each target conferee is made based on criteria that include the telephone number or Internet address of the target conferee&#39;s telephone.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a conversion of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/510,925 filed Oct. 14, 2003, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates generally to telephony systems. More particularly the invention relates to a system and method for initiating and controlling conference calls through any telecommunications or media system. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The disclosure of this invention will focus on its application in the traditional telephone system. This is done for the sake of clarity and brevity, since describing the application of this invention in each of the other telecommunication systems would be needlessly tedious. It will become clear to a person reasonably skilled in this art that the methods described in this disclosure can be applied similarly to any telecommunication system. 
     Several methods are currently in use for establishing a telephone conference call. These include:
         1. Prearrange a time when each conferee will dial a specified phone number to join a conference call. At the prearranged time, as each conferee makes a connection to the specified phone number, they are automatically joined to a conference call that is already operational before any conferees have joined.   2. A call administrator manually dials each target conferee, placing each contacted conferee on hold while attempting to contact the remainder of the target conferees. Then, when all conferees have been contacted, the call administrator causes them all to be simultaneously bridged into the conference call via features available in a local PBX or telephony switch system.   3. A method described in 2 above, wherein a computerized system replaces the call administrator, performing the same functions automatically.       

     In method 1 (above), the process is semi-coordinated in that a prearranged time is used as a target connection time for each conferee. One problem with this approach is that it relies on the conferees to remember the exact prearranged time of the call. It also relies on the expectation that each of the conferees will initiate their connection to the conference call at the same time (any delay by one or more conferees to initiate dialing will delay the effective start time of the conference call). This approach also assumes that all of the target conferees&#39; time clocks are precisely synchronized (even a few minutes of difference between clocks can delay the effective start time of the conference call). Another disadvantage of this approach is that, intentionally or unintentionally, uninvited participants can be connected into the conference call at any time during the call. One advantage to this approach is that the process of initiating the conference call is parallel in nature. This can reduce the amount of time required to connect all of the conferees to the conference call. Unfortunately, this approach&#39;s parallel activity is uncoordinated and relies on the memories and attentiveness of each of the target conferees. Thus, problems remain with this approach. 
     In method 2 (above), the manual process of serially dialing even a few conferees is tedious, time consuming and error prone. If a significant number of conferees are included, this process becomes completely impractical due to the amount of time required to contact the entire list of conferees before the conference call can start. One benefit of having a person manually dial each of the target conferees is that the person has the ability to detect and correct errors on the conferee list (wrong or disconnected phone number, etc.). This person can also determine in real time whether the correct person has answered the phone, whether or not an answering machine or voicemail has been reached, whether the connection time has become unreasonable or unusually long and, finally, whether or not the target conferee accepts the invitation to the conference call. Another advantage of having a person manually dial each target conferee is that the person can redial the conferee if their connection is lost and it is known that the conferee wishes to continue to participate in the conference call. Thus, problems remain with this approach. 
     In method 3 (above), the automation of the dialing process removes the tedious dialing task from a human, and reduces the time required to contact the entire list of conferees. However, the dialup process is still serial, thereby incurring the unavoidable accumulation of delays associated with contacting each conferee. 
     Many systems exist for automatically initiating and controlling conference calls. Even the most automated of these systems, however, invariably uses the same basic process to initiate a conference call. The basic process includes the serial steps of:
         1. Dialing a conferee (from among those found on a list of target conferees).   2. If contact is made with the target conferee, making a connection between that conferee and the pending conference call.   3. After these first steps are completed, the process is repeated for the next conferee on the list.
 
This continues until all of the target conferees have been contacted and connected to the conference call. At this point, the conference call can begin.
       

     As described below, this serial dialup process has several disadvantages. 
     The first disadvantage of the serial dialup process is that the conference call is stalled (with participants waiting on hold) while the remaining conferees are being connected to the call. Since the time required for each connection to a conferee may be several seconds (typically 5 or 6 seconds before the dialed number even begins ringing), when the quantity of conferees exceeds 20 the conferee who was contacted first is required to wait up to 2 minutes before the call becomes operational. This may seem insignificant, but as the quantity of conferees rises, the delay associated with contacting all of the conferees rises proportionally. When a massive list of conferees is used (as occurs when a conference call is used to disseminate a corporate announcement), this delay becomes burdensome. For instance, if a conference call is intended to reach 5000 employees of a company, the cumulative connection delay could exceed 7 hours (assuming an average connection time of 5 seconds per conferee). This makes the serial dialup approach impractical for this application (or any other mass telephony conference application). 
     A second disadvantage of existing conference call initiation processes is that statistics are not kept that can be used to make subsequent conference calls to the same conferees more efficient. For instance, if a target conferee changes their phone number, time is wasted unsuccessfully attempting to contact them at their old phone number. Not only does this waste time and resources, it can potentially annoy someone who has since acquired the old phone number. 
     Yet another disadvantage of existing conference call initiation systems is the inherent risk of using a single dial-out source (telephony switch or PBX). Should this switch fail (or its connections to the PSTN fail), the successful completion of the conference call becomes impossible. 
     Another significant disadvantage of current conference call initiation systems is that there is no mechanism for determining whether a conferee, who has disconnected from the conference call in progress, desires to be reconnected to the call. 
     From this explanation it can be seen that a method and article are needed for reducing the amount of time required to connect an entire list of target conferees to a conference call. It can also be seen that there is a need for a conference call system that is not vulnerable to a failure of a single telephony switch or that switch&#39;s network connections. Further, it can be seen that there is a need for a conference call system that automatically gathers and analyzes statistics of a conference call in order to improve the efficiency of the conference call initiation process for subsequent conference calls. It can also be seen that there is a need for a conferencing control system that can determine whether a connection should be joined to the conference call based on predefined parameters and detected conditions. It can finally be seen that there is a need for a conferencing control system that can determine whether a disconnected conferee should be reconnected to the conference call by either automatically out dialing to the conferee, or by allowing the conferee to dial a predefined phone number, and after being revalidated, be reconnected to the call. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide a method for dramatically reducing the time required to notify a group of target conferees and incorporate them into a conference call. 
     It is another object, feature, or advantage of this invention to provide a method and article for initiating a conference call, wherein the process includes allowing a target conferee to validate that they are the appropriate party, then accept or reject an invitation to a conference call, the response of the target conferee being recorded and later used (along with other factors) to determine whether that conferee should be auto-reconnected or allowed to reconnect to an ongoing conference call when connection has been lost to that conferee. 
     It is yet another object, feature, or advantage of the invention to provide an article and method for automatically redialing a conference call participant who has been disconnected, yet has indicated a desire to participate in the entire conference call. This object also includes the ability of the invention to detect a predefined disconnect signal from a conferee, the signal indicating that the conferee chooses to voluntarily disconnect from an ongoing conference call, thus indicating that the conferee should not be automatically reconnected to the ongoing call. 
     It is also an object, feature, or advantage of the invention to provide an article and method for preventing call answering automation systems from becoming connected to a conference call, as well as for preventing uninvited parties from joining a conference call. 
     It is yet another object, feature or advantage of the invention to provide a conferencing controller that automatically detects a connection failure that is due to busy signals, “telephone number changed” or “telephone number disconnected” (or similar) messages when attempting to connect to a specific target conferee. This conferencing controller then records this information in association with the specific target conferee to prevent further attempts to connect to the same target conferee via the same contact phone number or digital address, and alerts the conferencing controller&#39;s users that this specific target conferee&#39;s contact information should be updated. 
     It is further an object, feature, or advantage of this invention to provide an article and method for automatically storing conference call activity statistics, such as call initiation start time, operational conference call start and end times, individual conferee connection and disconnect times, the telecommunications resources associated with each conferee&#39;s connection, any failures associated with attempting to contact each conferee, along with many other useful statistics. 
     An additional object, feature or advantage of the invention is to provide a method for automatically analyzing these gathered statistics to establish decision-making criteria that can be used to increase the efficiency, coordination and speed of subsequent attempts to contact conferees. 
     It is additionally an object of the invention to provide an article and method that makes statistical system performance data available to external processes for analysis and billing purposes. 
     It is finally an object of the present invention to provide an article and method for reducing vulnerability to a single point of failure in the available telephony resources. 
     One or more of these and/or objects and other features and advantages are obtained in a teleconferencing control system that can be positioned in any location that provides connectivity to selected telephony resources either via the Internet or other data communications networks. This teleconferencing control system stores a list of target conferees&#39; contact phone numbers and/or digital connection addresses. When a conference call is initiated by this teleconferencing control system, a computer, using an intelligent, coordinated, parallel distributed dialing approach, having controlling access to multiple parallel telephony resources, selectively assigns available telephony resources for each out dial to a target conferee (this selection is based on the phone number or digital address of the target conferee, the location of the target telecommunications device, system load-balancing requirements, the known quality of the selected telephony resources and the predicted connection delay known to be associated with the selected telephony resources). 
     In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the teleconferencing control system comprises a data network server computer that will host the conference call, handling inter-conferee information exchange in the digital domain. This data network server, in the preferred configuration, is connected in parallel through multiple data networks to multiple voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) telephony gateways (though a single data path to a single VoIP gateway will suffice). This teleconferencing control system stores a list of target conferees for each conference call, instigating a simultaneous, parallel, distributed out dialing of the target conferees upon detection of a manual trigger, or automatically at a predefined time or upon detection of a set of specified trigger conditions. 
     This teleconferencing control system, for each conferee on the list, initiates a connection attempt through selected telephony resources. Instead of waiting for connection to a conferee before proceeding (as is currently done in the art), the present invention, in a parallel fashion through multiple telephony resources, initiates the dialing of multiple conferees simultaneously. Preferably, connection attempts to all target conferees are started at precisely the same time, or with a coordinated timing that is automatically adjusted per target conferee to account for variations in known connection delays associated with selected telephony resources. In this manner, the entire target conferee base is connected substantially simultaneously to the conference call. It is to be understood that connecting substantially simultaneous or substantially at the same time does not require that the connection, be made at the exact and precise time, but rather such that it appears to be simultaneous or substantially simultaneous to the conferees. The terms “simultaneous” and “substantially simultaneous” exclude sequential attempts to connect. 
     The selection of the telecommunications resources to use for out dialing a given conferee is determined based on an algorithm that factors in:
         1. The location of the conferee&#39;s phone.   2. The predicted telephony resource loading.   3. The costs associated with the selected connection route.   4. The type of system through which the conferee will be connected.
           a. PSTN voice telephony system.   b. Video conferencing system.   c. Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) system.   d. Wireless versus wireline system.   
           5. Statistical connection speed performance histories of available telecommunications resources and routes.   6. Statistical quality performance histories of available telecommunications resources and routes.   7. In the case of VoIP connections, the statistical quality performance histories of available network servers and services.       

     A significant advantage of this approach over prior art is that when a conference call is initiated, the amount of time required to contact each of the target conferees, and to finally connect all conferees together for the call is dramatically reduced. In addition, since the out dialing of each conferee is done through a selected telecommunications resource (from among a plurality of available resources), the probability of providing a best-quality and least expensive conference call is improved. Also, since more than a single route is available for contacting conferees, the possibility of a conference call (or portions thereof) being blocked due to call traffic overloading or failure of telephone system resources is reduced. 
     Since dialing multiple conferees can be done in a parallel manner, there is no requirement for the teleconferencing system to endure the delays inherent with serial dialing through a single telecommunications resource. This is significant because the call setup and connection process for existing telecommunications systems has a lower limit in terms of completion time. This is due to current telecommunications system design, which requires that a telecommunications switch receive a signal or message from the call initiator, which takes a finite period of time to accomplish, followed by further required signaling between the initial switch and a distant switch (which may directly ring a targeted telephone, or require connection through one or more other switches before a connection can be made to the target telephone). Each link through a telecommunications switch will add some minimum additional amount of processing time to the call connection process. 
     If the teleconferencing controller must wait for connection to each target conferee before out dialing to the next conferee on the list, the delays associated with each connection attempt are serialized, thereby creating a situation where, predictably, the more target conferees there are, the longer it will take to notify the entire conferee base and get them all simultaneously connected into the call. 
     In the present invention, the conferees are simultaneously out dialed through multiple telephony resources in at least a partially parallel manner. This means that, in the best case where each conferee is dialed through a separate telephony resource, the connection of all of the conferees to the conference call is completed when the slowest connection is completed. A simple calculation shows that this significantly reduces the overall time required to establish an operational conference call. 
     For example: 
     A conference call is initiated by a prior art conference call setup method by serially dialing each of 100 conferees to establish their connection to the call. Assuming an average call connection time of 6 seconds for each conferee, the conference call becomes fully operational after 600 seconds (10 minutes). In contrast, a conference call set up using the method disclosed in the present invention, using 100 separate telecommunications switches for out dialing to the conferees (one switch per conferee), the conference call would be fully operational after only 6 seconds. This provides a dramatic reduction in the conference call setup time. 
     Considering the amount of time a conferee must wait (on hold) for a conference call to start using the prior art setup method, there is a notable benefit to the conferee in using the method of the present invention, since the on-hold time is nearly eliminated (in some scenarios, the on-hold time is eliminated entirely). 
     In an alternate embodiment of the invention, a teleconferencing controller can eliminate the need for an intermediate protocol conversion of the voice and data signaling. In this embodiment, the conferencing controller does not host the conference call, but rather connects all of the participating conferees to an external conference hosting system. This alternate embodiment of the invention is configured in a way that allows the conferencing controller to have direct controlling access to telephony switches, causing the switches to out dial to the conferees in a coordinated, parallel manner. The conferencing controller can either command the telephony switch to connect the conferees to a specified telephone number (a conference in progress or about to begin), or can command the telephony switch to access a local conference call setup list that specifies the dial out effort parameters. 
     In another alternate embodiment of the present invention, the conferencing controller maintains a cross-reference list that identifies conference call “groups.” When a conference call is triggered for an identified group, the group identifier is used to determine which telephony switch(es) or VoIP gateway server(s) should be engaged to assist in initiating the call. Each of the selected switch(es) or VoIP gateway server(s) contains a local cross-reference list that associates a group identifier with the task of making connection to one or more locally listed conferees. The conferencing controller of this embodiment of the invention sends each selected switch or VoIP gateway a signal or message that identifies a specific conferee group, allowing that switch or VoIP gateway to handle the parallel out dialing of the conferees contained in a localized list. This further distributes the dial out effort and reduces the communication bandwidth required for communicating the dial out information to the selected telephony resources, thus reducing the overall time required to set up a conference call. 
     In a further alternative embodiment, the present invention can be implemented as a telephony switch-internal configuration, where the parallel out dialing logic is contained and operated within the telephony switch, and the switch&#39;s internal conferencing resources are used. 
     The present invention can better be visualized and understood by turning to the following drawings where like elements are referenced by like numerals. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram of the preferred embodiment of the system hardware architecture of the invention as it interconnects to existing telephony systems. 
         FIG. 2  is a simplified flow chart of the main loop of the controlling software program of the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2   a  is a simplified flow chart of one of n parallel conferee connection processes of the conferencing controller server software according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2   b  is a simplified flow chart of the automatic invitation process of the conferencing controller server software according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2   c  is a simplified flow chart of the automatic active conference call handling process of the conferencing controller server software according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a simplified block diagram showing the interconnection of system elements according to an alternate embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a simplified block diagram of the subsystem elements involved with using connection statistics according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a simplified block diagram of an alternative arrangement of the invention&#39;s hardware architecture, where the conferencing controller does not host the conference call, and data connections to telephony switches are made directly, without involving VoIP gateways or protocol conversion of voice between VoIP and traditional telephony protocols. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the invention will be described. First, the overall hardware architecture and connections will be described, following which will be a description of the operation of the software which controls the invention&#39;s hardware and processes. The specific embodiments set forth herein are merely representative of the present invention and the present invention is not to be limited to these specific embodiments. 
     Conferencing System Hardware High-Level Architecture 
     It can be seen that in the preferred embodiment of the invention, there is an architecture that at least partially includes the elements shown in  FIG. 1  of the drawings. 
     Now referring to  FIG. 1  of the drawings, it can be seen that there is a software program  110  operating to control teleconferencing controller  101 . Software program  110  contains conference call setup process  112 , which is triggered when software program  110  detects a condition indicating that a conference call should be started. Additionally, software program  110  controls the existence and operation of all of n instances of parallel connection process  111 . Available for access by software program  110  operating (and preferably residing within teleconferencing controller  101 ) is conferee list  113 . Communications between software program  110  and conferee list  113  occurs through communications path  114 . 
     Teleconferencing controller  101  is connected to, and communicates with, a portion of a LAN/WAN/INTERNET  102  network through a data network using a “voice-over-internet-protocol” (VoIP), or similar protocol via data network path  107 . Note that, while only a single connection is shown in  FIG. 1  for the sake of simplification, in actual practice, for the sake of redundancy and efficiency, one or more additional parallel connections are typically used to connect these two entities. 
     It can also be seen in  FIG. 1  that a plurality of VoIP phones or systems  106  may be connected, each through a data network path  107 , to a portion of the same LAN/WAN/INTERNET  102  network. Through these connections, teleconferencing controller  101  can communicate with these devices or systems. 
     Still referring to  FIG. 1 , it can be seen that a plurality of protocol converters  103  can also be connected to a portion of LAN/WAN/INTERNET  102 , each through a data network path  107 . Each protocol converter  103  handles the translation of signals and data formats between the selected VoIP (or similar) protocol and a telephony PSTN switch or PBX  104 . Each protocol converter  103  communicates with its associated PSTN switch or PBX  104  through a telephony interface path  108 . Note that while a one-to-one relationship is shown as an example in  FIG. 1  between a protocol converter  103  and an associated PSTN switch or PBX  104 , a single protocol converter  103  can communicate with more than one associated PSTN switch or PBX  104 , and conversely a single PSTN switch or PBX  104  can communicate with more than one protocol converter  103 . 
     Finally, in  FIG. 1  it can be seen that each PSTN switch or PBX  104  communicates with each of a plurality of traditional voice telephones  105  through a switch-to-phone interface  109 . This link represents any of the available well known standard telephony interfaces between switching systems and telephones as well as any privately held proprietary interface between a telephony switch and its associated telephone base. 
     It is important to note that while both VoIP (or similar) protocol phones and standard PSTN voice phones are shown in  FIG. 1  to indicate that both can be accommodated simultaneously, the methods of the present invention are not limited to these specific protocols, and can be practiced using any one or more of the available communications protocols. 
     A software program  110 , along with a conference call setup process  112  and one or more parallel connection processes  111 , operates to control the actions of teleconferencing controller  101 , actuating the methods, functions and features made available through practice of the present invention. 
     While one or more conferee lists  113  are stored in a data storage medium accessible to software program  110  operating on teleconferencing controller  101 , these conferee lists  113  are not necessarily stored physically within the hardware of teleconferencing controller  101 , since well known techniques in network technologies allow each of the lists to reside at any accessible network node. Each stored conferee list  113  defines the targeted conferees for a predefined conference call, along with detailed parameters related to each targeted conferee. Some or all of the conferee-specific elements shown in Table 1 are stored for each conferee in each stored conferee list  113 . 
                               TABLE 1                   Contents of conferee list            LIST           ELEMENT   DESCRIPTION               Conferee   Used as a key to link connection statistics to this conferee.       ID       Conference   A list of the IDs of conference calls to which this conferee       call ID list   is assigned.       Remote   A network resource identifier that specifies where this       Cache   conferee&#39;s data is locally stored.       Conferee   The name of the person who is a target conferee.       name       Conferee   The spoken language in which any interactive messages       language   will be delivered to this conferee.       Message   A bitmapped filter that identifies which messages will be       mask   delivered to the target conferee under various           circumstances.       Conferee   PSTN telephone number that will be used to contact       telephone   conferee when using classic voice telephone connection.       number       Alternate   Alternate PSTN telephone number that can be used to       telephone   contact this conferee.       number       Network   The network address to use for connecting this conferee       address   when using VoIP (or similar) protocol.       Preferred   The preferred protocol (PSTN, VoIP, etc.) to use when       contact   contacting this conferee.       protocol       Preferred   The preferred network to use when attempting to contact       network   this conferee.       Preferred   The preferred telecommunications switch or PBX to use       switch/PBX   when attempting to contact this conferee.       Start time   The amount of time to delay an attempt to connect to this       offset   conferee.                    
Conferencing Controller Software Overview
 
     Now referring the simplified software flowchart in  FIG. 2  of the drawings, it can be seen that in the conference call setup process  112  of software program  110  (operating to control teleconferencing controller  101 ), there is a starting point block  201 . At this point, software program  110  is already operating on teleconferencing controller  101 , and there has been a trigger event or condition detected indicating that a conference call is to be initiated. 
     Since, to gain the claimed benefits of the present invention, the specific method of detecting and interpreting an initiating trigger event or condition and the specific method of identifying the applicable conferee list  113  is of no consequence, these details are omitted from this description of the invention. The present invention contemplates that any number of methodologies or approaches can be used as may be appropriate in particular situations. Generally, however, the present invention accommodates the initiating trigger and identification of the appropriate conferee list  113  in many forms. One example of this is the reception of a call from the conference call initiator that automatically identifies the caller (through the well known telephony “automatic number identifier” (ANI) signaling, or “caller ID” functionality), and thereby an associated conferee list  113 . Alternately, a conference call can be triggered, and automatic selection of the associated conferee list  113  accomplished by computer software program  110  when it recognizes that a predefined call initiation time has arrived. Additionally, a user operating a network interface (traditionally, a web browser) can access an Internet or intranet web page where an option exists to trigger a conference call to any of a selection of conferee lists  113 . The actions of the user of this web page are then communicated to software program  110  operating on teleconferencing controller  101 , where the user&#39;s actions are interpreted as a trigger to initiate a conference call setup process  112  for the specified conferee list  113 . 
     In the flowchart of  FIG. 2  it can be seen that the beginning of conference call setup process  112  is starting point block  201 , which connects to preparation block  202 , where conference call setup process  112  accesses a pre-defined conferee list  113  that includes individual conferee parameters. Once conferee list  113  has been accessed, and the relevant data retrieved, conference call setup process  112  proceeds to process block  203  where conference call setup process  112  begins gathering and recording individual conferee connection status data from each of the parallel connection processes  111 . 
     At this point, conference call setup process  112  enters a tight loop that includes process block  204 , process block  205  and decision block  206 . In this section of conference call setup process  112 , the software steps sequentially through the entries of conferee list  113 , and for each conferee on the list, assigns one of n available parallel connection processes  111  to manage establishment of maintenance of a connection to the selected conferee. In this manner, conference call setup process  112  is able to generate a simultaneous dial-out to some or all of the entries of conferee list  113  (since each of the assigned parallel connection processes  111  can proceed to connect to its assigned conferee without respect to any processing delays related to connection to any other target conferee). 
     Specifically, in process block  204 , conference call setup process  112  selects the next conferee on the conferee list  113 . Once this is accomplished (and the associated data has been acquired for the selected conferee), conference call setup process  112  proceeds to process block  205 , where the call setup and handling for the selected conferee is passed to one of n available parallel connection processes  111 . Along with this assignment, conference call setup process  112  passes to this instance of parallel connection process  111  any preferred connection path choices associated with the selected conferee that were retrieved from conferee list  113 . 
     Once the call setup and handling for the selected conferee has been passed to an available parallel connection process  111 , conference call setup process  112  proceeds to decision block  206 , where a test is performed to determine whether the end of conferee list  113  has been reached. If the test shows that there are more entries of conferee list  113  yet to be processed, conference call setup process  112  returns to process block  204  for selection of the next conferee on the conferee list  113 . Otherwise (all entries of the conferee list  113  have been processed), conference call setup process  112  proceeds to process block  207 . 
     In process block  207 , conference call setup process  112  informs the conference call administrator that the end of conferee list  113  has been reached. Process block  107  also makes available, to the conference call administrator, those connection statistics related to the call. These statistics may include information about how many conferees are currently connected, have accepted an invitation to the call and are waiting for the call to begin. 
     Once this is accomplished, conference call setup process  112  proceeds through connection point  208  and connection point  209  to decision block  210  where conference call setup process  112  enters a tight loop that includes decision block  210 , manual input block  211  and decision block  212 . In this loop, conference call setup process  112  monitors conditions to determine whether to begin the conference portion of the call. 
     Specifically, in decision block  210  conference call setup process  112  tests whether a predefined conference call start time has arrived. If this time has not arrived, conference call setup process  112  accepts any manual input signals that indicate whether a manual command to start the conference portion of the call has been received (for example, a traditional DTMF signal from one of the conferees or the call initiator). This test is accomplished in manual input block  216 . Once this test is completed, conference call setup process  112  proceeds to decision block  217  where control of the program is returned to decision block  210  if such a manual command to start the conference portion of the call has not been received (thus returning to the top of this tight loop). However, if a manual command to start the conference portion of the call has been received, conference call setup process  112  proceeds to process block  214 . 
     If in decision block  210  it is determined that a predefined start time for the conference call has arrived, conference call setup process  112  proceeds to process block  213 , where the call administrator is informed that the start time for the call has arrived and the conference portion of the call is about to begin. Once this is done, conference call setup process  112  proceeds to process block  214 , where a master call start signal is sent simultaneously to every parallel connection process  111 , thus causing all conferees to enter the conference portion of the call. Once all connected conferees are placed in conference mode, conference call setup process  112  proceeds to process block  215 , where an announcement is delivered simultaneously to all connected conferees that the conference call is now starting and the start time of the conference portion of the call is recorded. 
     At this point, conference call setup process  112  proceeds to manual input block  216 , entering a tight loop comprised of manual input block  216 , decision block  217  and decision block  221 . In this loop, conference call setup process  112  monitors the conference call conditions to determine when the call has ended (or should end). In manual input block  216 , a test is made to determine whether a signal has been received that commands conference call setup process  112  to end this conference call. The results of this test are evaluated in decision block  217 , where, if the END CALL signal is received, conference call setup process  112  exits this loop and flows to process block  218 , but if the END CALL signal is not received, conference call setup process  112  remains inside this loop, flowing to decision block  220 . 
     Now following the flow of conference call setup process  112 , when the results of the test are that the END CALL signal is received, the flow goes to process block  218 , where all remaining conference call participants are notified that the conference call is ended. Proceeding on from there, process block  219  is entered, where a master END CALL signal is sent to each active parallel connection process  111 , commanding each to disconnect its portion of the conference call. From here, conference call setup process  112  proceeds to process block  221 , where the conference call is terminated (ended) and the termination time of the conference call is recorded, whereupon the main loop of conference call setup process  112  proceeds to process termination block  222 , where conference call setup process  112  is terminated. 
     Now, instead, following the flow of conference call setup process  112 , starting at decision block  217 , when the results of the test are that the END CALL signal is not received, the flow goes to decision block  220 , where it is determined whether more than zero conferees are still connected to the conference call. If there is a quantity greater than zero of conferees still connected to the call, then conference call setup process  112  reenters this loop by flowing into manual input block  216 . If it is determined, however, in decision block  220  that there are zero conferees still connected to the conference call, then conference call setup process  112  exits this loop, flowing to process block  221 , where the call is terminated (ended) and the termination time of the conference call is recorded, whereupon conference call setup process  112  proceeds to process termination block  222 , where conference call setup process  112  is terminated. 
     Initiating a Call to a Conferee 
     Now referring to  FIG. 2   a  of the drawings, it can be seen that, from starting point block  223 , one of n identical parallel conferee connection processes  111  proceeds immediately to decision block  224 . In decision block  224  it is determined whether a command has been received to initiate a call to a selected conferee from conferee list  113 . Note that this instance of parallel conferee connection processes  111  is in communication with conference call setup process  112 , from which this command to initiate a call is received. 
     If in decision block  224  it is determined that the command to initiate a call has not been received, the software re-enters decision block  224  remaining in a very tight loop (effectively continuously monitoring for the receipt of the command). 
     If the command to initiate a call is received, the software flows from decision block  224  to process block  225  where the received command data is parsed to retrieve the parameters related to the conferee that will be contacted. Refer to Table 1, for a list of parameters that can be stored for each conferee in conferee list  113 . 
     From process block  225  the software proceeds to process block  229 . In process block  229 , the appropriate network is signaled (PSTN, VoIP, or any other type) to initiate a connection to the selected conferee (using the parameters acquired from conferee list  113 ) before the software flows to decision block  230 . 
     Now in decision block  230  it is determined whether the target phone is ‘busy’. If the target phone is busy, the software proceeds to process block  231  where the call attempt is ended and a statistic for this conferee is recorded that indicates that the conferee&#39;s phone was busy during the attempt to contact the conferee. From process block  231 , the software flows to process block  228  where the calling program is informed about the contact failure and of the availability of this instance of one of n parallel conferee connection process  111  to accept another call handling task. From process block  228  the software returns to starting point block  223 . If in decision block  230  it is determined that the target phone is not busy, the software proceeds to decision block  232 . 
     In decision block  232  it is determined whether a ‘phone disconnected’ message is received during the attempt to contact the selected conferee. If a ‘phone disconnected’ message was received, the software proceeds to process block  233  where the call attempt is ended and a statistic for this conferee is recorded that indicates that a ‘phone disconnected’ message was received during the attempt to contact the conferee. From process block  233 , the software flows to process block  228  where the calling program is informed about the contact failure and of the availability of this instance of one of n parallel conferee connection process  111  to accept another call handling task. From process block  228  the software returns to starting point block  223 . If in decision block  232  it is determined that a ‘phone disconnected’ message was not received, the software proceeds to decision block  234 . 
     In decision block  234  it is determined whether the call was answered in response to the attempt to contact the selected conferee. If the call was not answered, the software proceeds to process block  237  where the call attempt is ended and a statistic for this conferee is recorded that indicates the call was not answered. From process block  237 , the software flows to process block  228  where the calling program is informed about the contact failure and of the availability of this instance of one of n parallel conferee connection process  111  to accept another call handling task. From process block  228  the software returns to starting point block  223 . If in decision block  234  it is determined that the call was answered, the software proceeds to decision block  235 . 
     In decision block  235  it is determined whether the call was answered by an answering machine in response to the attempt to contact the selected conferee. If the call was answered by an answering machine, the software proceeds to process block  236  where the call attempt is ended and a statistic for this conferee is recorded that indicates the call was answered by an answering machine. From process block  236 , the software flows to process block  228  where the calling program is informed about the contact failure and of the availability of this instance of one of n parallel conferee connection process  111  to accept another call handling task. From process block  228  the software returns to starting point block  223 . If in decision block  235  it is determined that the call was not answered by an answering machine, the software proceeds to process block  238 . 
     If the software enters process block  238 , it indicates that a connection has been made and that the call has been answered by a person (not an answering machine). In process block  238  the calling program is informed of the time that the connection was made. From the software flows through connection point  239  and connection point  240  (shown in  FIG. 2   b ), thereby entering the invitation process for this connection. 
     Invitation Process 
     Now referring to  FIG. 2   b  of the drawings, it can be seen that connection point  240  is the starting point for the invitation process used by one of n parallel connection processes  111 . From connection point  240  the software flows directly to preparation block  240 , where data from conferee list  113  is accessed to determine the language and content of the outgoing message(s) that will be delivered to the selected conferee. Once this is accomplished the software proceeds to process block  242  where the selected spoken invitation is delivered to the listener (including an option menu). At this point the software proceeds to manual input block  243  where listener responses to the delivered menu are accepted. 
     Once the listener responses have been accepted, the software flows to process block  244 , where the accepted responses are recorded and then reported back to the calling program. From process block  244 , the software flows to decision block  245  where it is determined whether the invitation to the conference call has been accepted by the listener. 
     If the listener did not accept the invitation, the software proceeds to process block  246  where the call attempt is ended and a statistic is recorded that indicates that the conferee rejected the invitation to this conference call. From here, the software proceeds to process block  247  where the calling program is informed about the call rejection and of the availability of this instance of parallel connection process  111  to accept assignment to another connection attempt. Following this, the software proceeds through connection point  251  back to the top of the parallel process (connection point  223  shown in  FIG. 2   a ). 
     If, in decision block  245 , it is determined that the listener did accept the invitation, the software proceeds to process block  252  where the conferee is placed on hold and the calling program is informed of the acceptance time for this conferee. At this point the software proceeds to process block  254  where it is determined whether a master call start signal has been received. If a master call start signal has not been received, the software proceeds to decision block  255  where it is determined whether the conference start time has arrived. If the conference start time has not arrived, the software proceeds to process block  253 , where an on-hold message or music is delivered to the conferee until the conference portion of the call begins. 
     Process block  253 , decision block  254  and decision block  255  comprise a tight loop that continues until either a predetermined conference start time arrives or a master ‘call start’ signal is received. If either of these two conditions is met, the software proceeds to process block  256  where delivery of the on-hold message or music is stopped and the conferee is connected to the shared conference call audio source (thus joining the conference portion of the call). 
     From here the software proceeds through connection point  257  to connection point  258  (shown in  FIG. 2   c ) where the active conference call handling process begins. 
     Active Conference Call Handling Process 
     Now referring to  FIG. 2   c  of the drawings, it can be seen that the active conference call handling process starts in connection point  258 . From here the software proceeds immediately to process block  259  where the software continuously processes signals generated by other participants and signals generated by this conferee until the conference call is ended or the conferee disconnects from the call. 
     Process block  259  is part of a tight loop that includes decision block  260  and decision block  261 . In this loop, if it is determined in decision block  260  that a master ‘end call’ signal has been received, the software flows to process block  262  where the conferee is informed that the conference call has ended. Once this has occurred, the software proceeds to process block  263  where this conferee is disconnected from the conference call. After disconnecting the conferee, the software proceeds to process block  264  where the calling program is informed of this conferee&#39;s disconnect time. From here, the software proceeds to process block  265  where the calling program is informed that this conferee has disconnected and this instance of parallel connection process  111  is available for accepting assignment of another call handling task. 
     If, during the processing of the tight loop comprised of process block  259 , decision block  260  and decision block  261 , it is determined in decision block  261  that the conferee is not still connected (the connection was accidentally lost or the conferee intentionally disconnected), the software proceeds to process block  264  and proceeds as described earlier. 
     Alternate Interconnection of System Elements 
     Now referring to  FIG. 3  of the drawings, it can be seen that, in an alternate embodiment of the invention, for any of n protocol converters  103 , there are two new elements and one new communications path added to the architecture. These new elements enable protocol converter  103  to locally store (in local converter conferee data storage  301 ) some or all of the data contained in conferee list  113 . Protocol converter  103  accesses data stored in local converter conferee data storage  301  via local storage access path  302 . 
     In this embodiment of the invention conferee list  113  is accessed by protocol converter  103  through a portion of a LAN/WAN/INTERNET  102  network using an appropriate data protocol via instances of data network path  107 . 
     In this arrangement, protocol converter  103  accesses conferee list  113  to acquire the data for one or more listed conferees. This data is stored in local converter conferee data storage  301  for later access. This distribution of data from conferee list  113  allows the parallel nature of the call setup process to become even broader. In this configuration, software program  110  can, through any of n parallel connection processes  111 , send a single command to an instance of protocol converter  103 , thereby causing that instance of protocol converter  103  to start its own internal process of performing a parallel connection effort to contact those conferees that are locally stored in local converter conferee data storage  301 . 
     Because each instance of protocol converter  103  can have multiple instances of telephony interface path  108 , though which communication is established with an instance of PSTN switch or PBX  104 , protocol converter  103  can initiate multiple connection attempts in parallel. Thus, protocol converter  103  can convert protocol for multiple conversations occurring through each instance of PSTN switch or PBX  104  as it communicates with each traditional voice telephone  105  through a switch-to-phone interface  109 . 
     Since, in this embodiment of the invention, protocol converter  103  already has a stored version of the information necessary to contact its pre-assigned list of conferees, parallel connection process  111  does not need to resend this information. Instead, a much shorter message is sent that provides a unique conference call identifier, triggering protocol converter  103  to start the internal process of establishing contact with those pre-assigned conferees that are associated with the specified conference call. 
     Software program  110  determines which instances of protocol converter  103  have a to locally stored copy of data from conferee list  113  by accessing conferee list  113  through communications path  114 , and then discovering which conferee records have a non-blank ‘Remote cache’ field. A non-blank ‘Remote cache’ field will contain the identity of the remote network resource where information about this conferee is stored (locally cached). In this manner, software program  110  can assemble a list of remote instances of protocol converter  103  that must be contacted and triggered with a short command when initiating a conference call. Of course this does not limit the ability of software program  110  to simultaneously utilize the same instance of protocol converter  103  for initiating individual connection attempts as is done in the preferred embodiment of this invention. 
     Using Connection Statistics 
     Now referring to  FIG. 4  of the drawings, it can be seen that the subsystem elements involved with using connection statistics are shown along with their interconnection scheme. This subsystem handles the acquisition and management of conference call connection statistics. Additionally, this subsystem contains statistical analysis routine  401 , which analyzes the gathered statistics and uses the results of the analysis to modify the contents of conferee list  113 . The changes made to conferee list  113  are intended to improve overall connection time coordination (minimizing the time that will elapse between connection of the first conferee to a conference call and the connection of the last conferee to the same call). 
     While minimizing the total time elapsed to connect all conferees to a call is important (and appropriately addressed by the present invention), it is also very important to insure that the first connectees to the conference call not be required to wait any longer than necessary for the conference portion of the call to start. Surprisingly, this may mean slowing down (increasing) connection times for specific conferees in order to insure that their actual connection time coincides with the connection times of other conferees. For instance, if the statistical information about conferee ‘A’ indicates that a connection to this conferee takes an average of 12 seconds, and the statistical information about conferee ‘B’ indicates that a connection to this conferee takes an average of 6 seconds, the connection attempt for conferee ‘B’ can be delayed by 6 seconds (relative to that of conferee ‘A’) to cause both conferees to be connected at the same time. As shown in Table 1 (contents of conferee list), a “Start time offset” parameter is included for each conferee. This parameter can be modified as appropriate for each conferee on the list to best coordinate connection times. 
     Now referring once again to  FIG. 4 , it can be seen that communications between software program  110  and conferee list  113  occurs through communications path  114 . During the conference call setup process, software program  110  accesses conferee list  113  to acquire, for each conferee on the list, the parameters related to making a connection with that conferee. Refer to Table 1 for a list of the preferred conferee parameters. These connection parameters are modified as necessary by the subsystem depicted in  FIG. 4 , based on the results of analysis of connection statistics gathered previously during the process of setting up conference calls involving conferees contained in conferee list  113 . 
     Referring now to Table 2, a list of possible elements of statistical data that can be used by statistical analysis routine  401 . These data, as well as others, can be used by the invention when analyzing the results of previous connection attempts to conferees. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Connection Statistics 
               
             
          
           
               
                 STATISTICS 
                   
               
               
                 ELEMENT 
                 DESCRIPTION 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Conferee ID 
                 Links these statistics to a specific conferee. 
               
               
                 Network used 
                 The network that was used when contacting this 
               
               
                   
                 conferee. 
               
               
                 Protocol used 
                 The protocol that was used when contacting this 
               
               
                   
                 conferee. 
               
               
                 Switch/PBX 
                 The switch or PBX that was used when contacting this 
               
               
                 used 
                 conferee. 
               
               
                 Phone number/ 
                 The telephone number or network address (for VoIP or 
               
               
                 Network 
                 similar connection) that was used when contacting this 
               
               
                 address 
                 conferee. 
               
               
                 Connection 
                 The status of the telecommunications connection attempt 
               
               
                 status 
                 (did the selected network successfully connect to the 
               
               
                   
                 target conferee&#39;s phone, or was a busy or other non- 
               
               
                   
                 connect signal encountered?). 
               
               
                 Connection 
                 The time that elapsed between the time that the selected 
               
               
                 time 
                 network was sent the appropriate signals/data to initiate 
               
               
                   
                 the connection and the time that the selected network 
               
               
                   
                 signaled that a connection was established (phone is now 
               
               
                   
                 ringing). 
               
               
                 Ring time 
                 The amount of time that the conferee&#39;s phone rang before 
               
               
                   
                 being answered. 
               
               
                 Call 
                 Did the conferee accept the invitation to the conference 
               
               
                 accepted? 
                 call? 
               
               
                 Conferee 
                 The amount of time that elapsed while the conferee was 
               
               
                 interaction 
                 responding to the automated invitation process. 
               
               
                 time 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Now referring once again to  FIG. 4 , it can be seen that software program  110  sends statistical data related to each conference call to connection statistics storage  402 . Statistical analysis routine  401  accesses connection statistics storage  402  to acquire historic statistical data for analysis. 
     Statistics storage  402  stores the statistical data in a format that is understood by software program  110 . The statistical data stored in statistics storage  402  can come from sources other than software program  110 . This subsystem accommodates the manual input of data  403 , as well as automated importation of connection statistics stored in an external system  404 . Through the use of statistics transfer routine  405  an automated process of converting externally sourced statistics into a format understandable by software program  110  is implemented. Statistics transfer routine  405  also stores the converted data in statistics storage  402 . In this way, the advantages of the statistical analysis are expanded by allowing inclusion of statistical data from other sources. 
     Similarly, statistical data stored in statistics storage  402  can be exported to external system  404  through the use of statistics transfer routine  405 . 
     As an additional benefit, the statistical data stored in statistics storage  402  can be converted to an appropriate format and exported to external applications  406  via statistics transfer routine  405 . In this way, external systems can utilize the data for their own purposes. 
     Once a statistical analysis has been performed, and the entries in conferee list  113  have been modified, software program  110  will use the newer parameters contained in conferee list  113  when attempting to connect to any of the listed conferees. 
     Non-Hosting Conference Controller Arrangement 
     Now referring to  FIG. 5  of the drawings, it can be seen that, in an alternate embodiment of the invention, the requirement is eliminated for including a protocol converter  103  and telephony interface path  108  (both seen in  FIG. 1  as elements of the hardware architecture of the preferred embodiment of the invention). Additionally, in this embodiment of the invention, teleconferencing controller  101  does not host the conference call. Instead, teleconferencing controller  101  simply sets up the call that will be hosted on another device (such as an instance of PSTN switch or PBX  104 ). 
     In the alternate embodiment of the invention depicted in  FIG. 5 , it can be seen that there is a software program  110  operating to control teleconferencing controller  101 . Software program  110  contains conference call setup process  112 , which is triggered when software program  110  detects a condition indicating that a conference call should be started. Additionally, software program  110  controls the existence and operation of all of n instances of parallel connection process  111 . Available for access by software program  110  operating (and preferably residing within teleconferencing controller  101 ) is conferee list  113 . Communications between software program  110  and conferee list  113  occurs through communications path  114 . 
     Teleconferencing controller  101  is connected to, and communicates with, a portion of a LAN/WAN/INTERNET  102  network through a data network using an appropriate switch communications protocol via data network path  107 . A plurality of PSTN switches or PBXs  104  is also connected to a portion of LAN/WAN/INTERNET  102 , each through a data network path  107 . Each PSTN switch or PBX  104  communicates with each of a plurality of traditional voice telephones  105  through a switch-to-phone interface  109 . This link represents any of the available well known standard telephony interfaces between switching systems and telephones as well as any privately held proprietary interface between a telephony switch and its associated telephone base. 
     In the alternate embodiment of the invention depicted in  FIG. 5 , the communications protocol used between teleconferencing controller  101  and PSTN switch or PBX  104  accommodates teleconferencing controller  101  instructing PSTN switch or PBX  104  to initiate calls to specified PSTN telephones. Conferee list  113  is used by software program  110  to ermine which PSTN switch or PBX  104  is used to contact each listed conferee. In this embodiment of the invention, instead of only providing PSTN switch or PBX  104  with the connection information related to the target conferee, software program  110  also provides information that identifies where the conference call is being hosted, so PSTN switch or PBX  104  can establish a connection between the target conferee and the resource that is hosting the conference call. 
     It can therefore be seen that software program  110  controls the methods that the apparatus of this invention use to provide the functions, features, and advantages claimed herein.