Abstract:
The invention pertains to an Internet conference call bridge management (ICCBM) system and method with which a person (customer) having access to the Internet may efficiently input the contact number of at least one party (call recipient) with whom the customer wants to speak. The ICCBM system then calls the customer, calls the party or parties, and the audio signals are bridged in a manner that optimizes the call signal to noise ratio, minimizes demands placed on computing resources, and provides controls with which the customer may monitor and control the telephonic access of the other participants through the duration of the conference call.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a conferencing system and method. In particular, the invention pertains to a method and system with which a customer may initiate and efficiently moderate and control a telephone call between the customer and one or more additional parties over web-enabled appliances or devices. 
         [0002]    The prior art discloses a number of conference calling systems. Many of these prior art systems are enterprise systems that require specialized hardware switching components and/or software running on the systems of call participants. In recent years, web-based conference calling has overcome disadvantages that plagued the prior art systems. These web-based conference calling systems, however, lack some of the advantages of the present invention. In particular, the prior art systems do not provide the flexibility necessary to adapt to the variable demands placed on the systems depending on the number of call participants, fail to utilize pre-existing customer information to expedite the input of call contact information, and fail to provide a means to prevent various hardware devices including facsimile and answering machines from being bridged into a conference call. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    The invention pertains to an internet conference call bridge management (ICCBM) system and method with which a person having access to the Internet may efficiently input the contact number of at least one party with whom the customer wants to speak. The ICCBM system then calls the customer, calls the party or parties, and the audio signals are bridged in a manner that optimizes the call signal to noise ratio, minimizes demands placed on computing resources, and provides controls with which the customer may monitor and control the telephonic access of the other participants through the duration of the conference call. 
         [0004]    The ICCBM system of the present invention is operably coupled to the Internet and to the public switch telephone network (PSTN). A customer with an internet appliance, such as a computer, a web-enabled PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or web-enabled telephone or radio device, browser software and Internet access may then remotely retrieve from the ICCBM system first output means, namely an interface, for prompting the customer from the intemet appliance to enter contact information associated with the audio communication device of at least one call-receiving party. The first output means, generally includes one or more web pages providing the customer interface for entering the contact information, as well as other call parameters as inputs. The contact information includes, at a minimum, a contact number or a link to a contact number for each party to participate in the call. The contact number is generally the telephone number of the audio communication device owned or in the possession of the party, although the contact number may be an IP (Internet Protocol) address corresponding to an internet appliance to which audio data is transmitted and converted to an audio signal. 
         [0005]    The contact information entered by the customer is uploaded to the ICCBM system by first input means. Once uploaded, the call enabling means places a first telephone call to the audio communication device associated with customer, and subsequent telephone calls to the audio communication device of the one or more call-receiving parties. The calls placed by the system to the customer and to the call-receiving parties are then brought together by bridging means. In general, the first input means, call enabling means, and bridging means refers to the hardware and software of the ICCBM system used to control the execution of direct dial telephone calls, the bridging of these calls, as well as various regulatory functions including the maintenance of customer accounts and billing. The ICCBM system preferably and substantially resides on one or more servers that are operatively linked to the Internet, the PSTN, and one or more databases. 
         [0006]    In some embodiments of the invention, the bridging means includes two call bridging subsystems identified as first and second bridging means. The first bridging means, which operates where the total number of call participants is two, preferably redirects the audio signals originating from audio communication devices of the customer and call-recipient by re-routing the incoming signals to the other participant&#39;s device. Preferably, the first bridging means does no or insubstantial amount of processing of the audio signals themselves. The second bridging means, which operates on conference calls involving three or more participants, preferably decodes the analog or digital audio signals, provides the appropriate mixing, and then re-encodes the signals for transmission to the call participants. The ICCBM system of the present invention is scalable and can therefore support conference calls between any number of participants, while minimizing the expenditure of system resources and maximizing the signal to noise ratio where there are only two call participants. 
         [0007]    In some embodiments of the invention, the ICCBM system includes group-click means, which allows a customer to simultaneously initiate a call to a group of participants the customer would like to bring into simultaneous telephonic communication. In other embodiments the customer can consecutively select one or more parties to be added to the conference call. The group-click means is implemented in the form of hyper-link, such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and equivalents, and is accessible to the customer via the intemet appliance. The contact numbers from which the customer may select the additional participants are preferably included in a pre-existing database defined by the customer and maintained by the ICCBM system. These contact names and numbers are preferably organized into a logical classification referred to as a contact group. The HTTP link, once associated with the contact group, permits the customer to simultaneously select and input all the contact numbers of a group, thereby avoiding the need to individually enter or individually select the contact numbers of the parties. 
         [0008]    In some embodiments of the invention, the ICCBM system further includes call moderating means. In the preferred embodiment, the call moderating means is an interface through which the customer monitors the status of calls. Preferably, the interface indicates when a call is being dialed, connected, bridged, and disconnected. In some embodiments, the call moderating means further includes controls for permitting the customer to mute one or more parties, place one or more parties on hold, terminate the call to one or more parties, and record a call. 
         [0009]    In some embodiments of the invention, the ICCBM system includes a means for allowing two customers to contact one another while maintaining anonymity of at least one, preferably two, of the customers. 
         [0010]    In some embodiments of the invention, the ICCBM system further includes a means for monitoring the usage of the customer and his remaining balance and alerting the customer through a visual or audio notification. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating the ICCBM system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, various communication interfaces, and transport media. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart of the method of generating a call from the system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating the method of executing a one-to-one telephone call using the ICCBM system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating the method of executing a conference call using the ICCBM system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating bridging network underlying a one-to-one telephone call using the ICCBM system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram illustrating bridging network underlying a conference call using the ICCBM system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is an exemplary graphical user interface for prompting the customer to input the contact numbers of the customer contact number and the contact information for one or more additional participants to the call. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is an exemplary graphical user interface for presenting the customer with the anticipated charges based upon contact information provided. 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is an exemplary graphical user interface for inputting or editing a customer&#39;s contact information. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is an exemplary graphical user interface for displaying the status of one or more pending calls prior initiation of a conference call. 
           [0021]      FIG. 11  is an exemplary graphical user interface for displaying the status of one or more pending calls concurrent within ongoing a conference call. 
           [0022]      FIG. 12  is a block diagram illustrating the anonymous ICCBM system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, various communication interfaces, and transport media. 
           [0023]      FIG. 13  is an exemplary graphical user interface with which a first anonymous customer of the anonymous ICCBM system of a preferred embodiment may initiate an anonymous call between the first anonymous customer and a second anonymous customer. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0024]    Shown in  FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating the ICCBM system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, various communication devices, file servers, and transport media. The ICCBM system as described herein place a telephone call back to the customer and one or more direct calls to call-recipients in response to a request by the customer of the ICCBM system. The purpose of the call back to the customer and one or more calls to the additional parties is to bridge the plurality of calls and place the participants in audio communication. The term “customer” herein is synonymous with a client or “user” of the ICCBM system. A customer together with one or more call recipients or call-receiving parties, i.e., called “parties,” constitutes the “participants” of the telephone call. 
         [0025]    The ICCBM system  100  of the preferred embodiment includes a telephony service provider (TSP)  120  that is operatively coupled to an internet appliance  102  through which the customer  101  accesses the World Wide Web or Internet  110  more generally. The appliance  102  may be a personal computer, as illustrated, or other device including the hardware and software necessary to provide and interface with and exchange information between the ICCBM system  100 . This software may include, for example, a web browser such as Internet Explorer®, Netscape™, or other packages known to those skilled in the art that permit a customer to execute download, view, input, output, upload, or otherwise interactively exchange information through web pages, hyperlinks, dialog boxes, and email exchange, for example. An alternative intemet appliance  102  may be a web enabled phone or a personal digital assistant, for example. The appliance  102  is operably coupled to TSP  120  the by means of the underlying transport medium  111  and transport medium  112  which may include a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), cable network, fiber optic network, intranet, ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) network, wireless LAN (Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network) or Gateway, for example, with suitable modification. The transport medium  111  may also include a PSTN (public switch telephone network) and an Internet Service Provider (ISP), the telephone line being used by both the internet appliance and an Audio Communication Device (ACD), such as a telephone. 
         [0026]    The customer  101  may further possess an audio communication device  103  for receiving the telephone call back from the ICCBM system. The other parties to the ICCBM system include one or parties equipped with their own audio communication devices including, for example, ACD  104 , ACD  105  through ACD  106 . These audio communication device may be telephones, cordless phones, cell phones, mobile terminals or other communication devices either directly or indirectly coupled to the publicly switched telephone network (PSTN)  130 . The customer&#39;s internet appliance  102  and audio communication device  103  may be distinct device or a single integrated device. 
         [0027]    A voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) Gateway (not shown) may also be present in the network between the customer  101  and TSP  120 . A Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Gateway encodes signals (thereby generating digital signals) originating from a customer&#39;s telephone, and decodes IP data packets transmitted through the communication transport medium to the customer. The Gateway encodes data in accordance with ITU standard codes like G711U or G729A which are then sent over the IP network. In particular, the signals generated by and transmitted to a telephone are conveyed by transport medium collectively referred to as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). One skilled in the art will recognize the need for various other types of gateways including voice-over-DSL, voice-over-Cable, and voice-over ATM gateways with various other forms of underlying network systems. 
         [0028]    The standard cell phone also communicates indirectly with the Internet through the Gateway. The signals generated by and received at cell phones are supported by a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), not shown, which converts between the PSTN and various wireless communication formats such as TDMA (Time division Multiple Access), CDMA (Code division Multiple Access), and GSM (Global System for Mobile), for example. 
         [0029]    In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the customer  101  may initiate a call to one or more parties by inputting the contact information, i.e, the telephone number or other address associated with the parties&#39; ACD. The contact information is used by the ICCBM system to call and link two or more parties in the manner prescribed by the customer. The ICCBM system  100  in the preferred embodiment includes the hardware and software associated with the telephony service provider (TSP)  120 . The TSP  120  preferably includes one or more web servers  121  that support the Internet protocols necessary to request and receive the information necessary to initiate and execute the ICCBM procedure. The web server  121  preferably has access to database  123  on which information of registered customers is stored, the information including account numbers, passwords or pin numbers, billing information including credit card numbers and addresses, pre-recorded audio and multimedia files, call recipient profile and contact information including the names and contact numbers, as described in more detail below. 
         [0030]    The TSP  120  preferably includes one or more chat servers operably coupled to the web server  121  and database  123  by means of communication links  124  and  126 , respectively. The chat servers are preferably dedicated systems capable of dialing telephone calls to the contact numbers of the participants and subsequently bridging or mixing the appropriate signals to effectively bring the customer and one or more call recipients into audio communication. The calls placed by the chat server  122  are in this embodiment indirectly communicated to the customer ACD  103  and parties ACD  104  through  106  by means of the PSTN  130 . 
         [0031]    Illustrated in  FIG. 2  is a flowchart of the method of generating a ICCBM according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The method  200  of initiating a call according to the preferred embodiment begins with the authentication procedure indicated by login step  202  in which the customer directs his browser software to access the web server  121  and download the first output means. The output means preferably comprised of one or more web page that collectively prompt the customer  101  for the information necessary to execute the ICCBM procedure. To authenticate the customer  101 , account information sufficient to uniquely identify the customer  101 , including an account name or number, password or pin number, for example, is uploaded to the TSP  120 . In the alternative, the TSP  120  may install a “cookie” on the customer intemet appliance  102 , usefully for recognizing returning customers without the manual entry of account information. The account information is then compared by the TSP  120  to existing account information stored in database  123  prior to providing the customer  101  access to subsequent features of the ICCBM system of the present embodiment. 
         [0032]    After a successful login  202 , the customer  101  is prompted, by means of a first output means of the ICCBM system  100 , to input the contact information for himself and one or more parties the customer intends to bring into and participate in the call. A representative web page  700  for inputting the requisite information is illustrated in  FIG. 7 . The graphical user interface provided by web page  700  prompts the customer  101  to input his own contact number and extension, which are entered in fields  702  and  704 , respectively, in accordance with the step  204  of  FIG. 2 . If not previously recorded, the customer may select the editing tool available by hyperlink  708  with which he may cause the newly entered contact number to be saved to his account on database  123 . As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the interface  900  provides the customer  101  the means to associate the new contact number provided in fields  904  and  906  with an identifier or term description in field  902 , and the new contact information added to existing contact information  910 . If, however, the customer&#39;s contact was previously recorded, the customer may select his preferred contact number from a list of one or more contact numbers using the pull-down menu  706 . 
         [0033]    In some embodiments, the contact number used by a returning customer is recognized by the TSP  120  and automatically provided in the appropriate field without the need to be manually entered. Caller-id may be used in some embodiments to detect the incoming phone&#39;number for a customer using a web-enabled telephone or a dial-up ISP to access the output means. In addition, the contact number for a returning customer may be used to authenticate the customer, or by the TSP  120  to automatically retrieve the customer&#39;s pin number without the need for manually entry. Preferably, the first output means includes means for requesting and recalling a contact number from the pre-existing contact list associated with the customer&#39;s account. In some embodiments, a request may be made by entry or selection of a unique pair of single digit numbers that are associated with the contact number of individual persons and entities. The pre-existing contact list is preferably defined by the customer and stored at the database  123 . The apparatus and method for implementing such a database is taught in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/039,795, entitled “Family tree website architecture,” which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. The ICCBM system of the present invention preferably cooperates with the system set forth and claimed in the &#39;795 patent cooperates with the TSP  120  of the present invention to provide the customer  101  access to a pre-existing database comprised of contact names logically organized according to contact groups, each contact group comprised of one or more contact names. Two common contact groups are “family” and “business.” Each contact group is designated by a first number, preferably a single digit, used to uniquely identify each group within the customer&#39;s list of contacts. Each of these groups is in turn comprised of one or more contact names designated by a second number, preferably a single digit, used to uniquely identify each person or entity with respect to the other contact names associated with that group. Each contact name has associated with a contact number, e.g. a telephone number, at which the contact may be reached. One skilled in art will recognize that the present invention is not limited to a pair of single digits, and may be implement using a plurality of alphanumeric characters sufficient to uniquely identify each contact. 
         [0034]    The first and second numbers together are sufficient to uniquely identify each contact number of each contact within the customer&#39;s account. The first and second number, when linked to the contact number, permit a customer  101  to enter two single digit numbers to summon the contact number from the database  123  without the need to remember or manually enter the desired contact number. A customer  101  of the present invention may avail himself of the contact information by selecting or otherwise entering the pair of numbers from the either the field  714  or pull-down menu  720 , for example. Selection of the pair of single digit numbers from menu  720 , will preferably cause the complete contact number associated with the number pair to be displayed in the field  714  where it may be confirmed by the customer. If selected, it is this contact number that will be dialed by the ICCBM system. 
         [0035]    In some embodiments, the TSP  120  includes automatic contact detection means for detecting the contact number used by the customer  101  to make the present call into the TSP. The detection means in the preferred embodiment is based on the caller-id services currently supported in the telecommunications industry. Upon detection, the number automatically detected preferably appears as the default number in field  702 , and authorized by the customer for purposes of initiating a call back to the customer. 
         [0036]    In additional to his own contact information, the customer  101  must input the contact information corresponding to one or more parties with whom he intends to make audio contact. As illustrated by step  206  of  FIG. 2 , the customer  101  preferably has at least three options for inputting party contact information. These options include manually entry  208 , individual selection  212  from the pre-existing database, and group selection  214  from the pre-existing database. 
         [0037]    In accordance with step  208 , the customer  101  may manually enter the contact number corresponding to the audio communication device of one or more parties, i.e.,  104  through  106 . Additional parties to a conference call may be included by entry of the contact numbers in dialog boxes,  716  and  718 , for example. If not previously recorded, the customer  101  may select the editing tool available by hyperlink  720 , for example, to save the newly entered contact number to the database  123  and associate the number with a new or pre-existing contact. In some embodiments, contact information of the customer and/or call recipients is inputted into the ICCBM system  100  using voice recognition means. Voice recognition means may be implemented on the customer&#39;s intemet appliance  102 , or supported by the output means using VRML (Voice Mark-up Language) in a manner known to those skilled in the art. 
         [0038]    If the contact number of an intended call recipient was previously recorded, the customer  101  may select the contact number from a list of one or more contact numbers using the pull-down menu  720 . The pull-down menu is generated in response to a query of the database  123  for contacts and or contact numbers previously entered by the customer  101 . This step is illustrated as step  212  in  FIG. 2 . Additional parties can be included in a conference call by entry of the audio communication device contact number in dialog boxes,  716  and  718 , for example. 
         [0039]    As a third option, the customer  101  may use group-click means to simultaneously select a plurality of contact numbers through what is referred to as a “one click” contact selection process illustrated as step  214  of  FIG. 2 . In accordance with the step, the customer  101  may click a single hyperlink (not shown) associated with a contact group, thus causing each of the contact numbers of the individuals that compose the group to be retrieved from the database  123 . In this manner, a customer  101  may simultaneously select all of the members of his “family” group or his “business” group, for example, with a single click. 
         [0040]    The various steps of entering or otherwise selecting the contact numbers as described above are repeated by means of decision block  216  and return path  218  until the contact numbers for each of the parties intended to participate in the subsequent call are provided therein. At this point, the list of contact numbers is complete and the customer  101  may initiate the call back by activating the “place call” hyperlink  726 . 
         [0041]    In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the customer  101  is presented the option of previewing the call billing or scheduling the date and time of the call back prior to placing the call back. A request by the customer  101  to view the billing, as indicated in step  220 , retrieves a web page consist with that illustrated in  FIG. 8 . The web page  800  illustrates an exemplary interface for presenting the customer  101  with the anticipated charges, which are calculated as a function of the contact information provided. As illustrated, the customer  101  is preferably presented with the one or more contact numbers  802  to which the customer intends to call, the geographic region  804  corresponding to the area code of the contact number to the immediate left, the cost per minute  806  of the call, the total cost per minute  808  to maintain the call, which is the sum of each the rates of each of the underling calls, and a connection fee  810  if applicable. 
         [0042]    According to the preferred embodiment, the output means exemplified by  FIG. 7  further includes the step of scheduling the call time or delay, as illustrated by step  222  of  FIG. 2 . The schedule time step  222  allows the customer to determine in advance exactly when the call back is to be executed. In the preferred embodiment, the customer  101  may enter the number of minutes  730  that the actual telephone call to the participants are placed after the “place call” hyperlink  726  is activated. A delay may be necessary for example where the customer&#39;s internet appliance  102  and audio communication device  103  use a common telephone line to access both the Internet  110  and PSTN  130 , respectively. As such, the customer  101  may require at least a moment to disengage the intemet appliance and re-establish the ACD connection, either physically or by means of software. The default delay time  730  is zero. 
         [0043]    Besides a call delay, a customer may be presented with a calendar to schedule a call at the convenient for customer. The various inputs for scheduling the call may include the time, date, day of the week and time zone, whether the call is recurring, i.e. occurring every Monday at 8:00 AM PST, for example. 
         [0044]    One skilled in the art will recognize that the steps of selecting the customer contact number  204 , selecting the party contact number(s)  206 , previewing the billing  220 , and scheduling the call delay  222  are independent events that may be executed in any, relative order and by means of one or separate web pages without departing from the spirit or scope of the claimed invention. 
         [0045]    Upon activation of the “place call” hyperlink  726 , the ICCBM system will determine the number of call participants  224  and execute either a “one-to-one” call back  226  or a “conference call” call back  228 . If the customer  101  has provided a single contact number in step  206  above, the ICCBM system  100  executes two separate calls which are subsequently bridged to bring the customer and call-receiving party in telephonic contact. After being bridged, the telephonic link is indistinguishable from a standard call placed to the by customer  101  directly to a party  104 . If, however, the total number of call participants is three or more, the ICCBM system  100  executes a conference call by means of a process including steps different than used for one-to-one calling. 
         [0046]    In some embodiments, the output means further includes a means for the customer  101  to select an audio file present on the TSP  120  where it may be played or other wise transmitted to one or more participants of a telephone call made in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. An audio file for purposes of the preferred embodiment is a music file, vocal file, personal audio message or greeting, pre-existing audio library file available for selection from the TSP  120 . The audio file is preferably a pre-existing file that is uploaded to the TSP  120 , although it may also be created as a recording made with the assistance of the TSP  120 . In either case, the audio file is preferably stored in database  123  or a similar file server were it is linked to the customer&#39;s account information and made available to the customer  101 . The user  101  may then cause the audio file to be played to at least one other person joined in the telephone call by the TSP  120 . See also copending patent application Ser. No. 10/198,008, entitled “Computerized Greeting System and Method,” which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
         [0047]    Illustrated in  FIG. 3  is a flow chart of the method of executing a one-to-one telephone call using the ICCBM system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. After detecting  224  that there are only two participants to a call, the ICCBM system  100  waits the requisite schedule time  730  prior to placing a call back  302  to the customer  101  at the contact number specified in step  204  of the customer&#39;s ACD  103 . After the TSP  120  detects that the customer  101  has answered the call, the system  100  dials the call recipient in step  304  at the contact number  206  corresponding to the party&#39;s ACD  104 . The calls are immediately bridged  306 , thereby allowing the customer  101  to hear the party&#39;s ACD  104  ring and the call recipient answer. 
         [0048]    The call between the customer and the call recipient then proceeds  308  in a manner consistent with a direct call from customer  101  to party  104  until the call is terminated  310  by either participant. Unlike a direct call, however, the ICCBM system provides a number of specific advantages to consumers and TSPs that were previously unavailable. First, the ICCBM system allows a customer to initiate a call through the relatively low cost TSP without the customer incurring the higher costs associated with telecommunications conglomerates that dominate the PSTN, and without the TSP  120  incurring the expense of providing a toll-free 800 number(s) for customer usage. Second, the ICCBM system provides global access to customers, irregardless of whether they have access to toll-free numbers and local access numbers, which is the current norm for ICCBM systems. Third, a customer using the ICCBM system can avoid surcharges when the customer is calling from a phone booth, for example. 
         [0049]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , a block diagram of the bridging network underlying a one-to-one telephone call using the ICCBM system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The ICCBM system  100  implements a first bridging means  502 , preferably with software resident on the chat server  122 , to place the customer  101  and call recipient  104  in audio communication. As illustrated, the audio signal  504  originating with the customer  101  is operatively coupled by means of channel  510  to the receiver of the party ACD  104 . Similarly, the audio signal  508  originating with the party  104  is coupled by means of channel  506  to the customer ACD  103  receiver. Whether the audio signals are analog signals or digital packets of sound data, the information is routed through the bridge  502  of the chat server  122  with little if any processing or demand for computational resources. The signal quality afforded by first bridging means is relatively high quality compared to the conference calling system described in detail below. 
         [0050]    Illustrated in  FIG. 4  is a flow chart depicting the method of executing a conference call using the ICCBM system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, an initial call  402  is placed by the chat server  122  to the customer  101  at ACD  103 , at which point the customer  101  is prompted to record an introduction including the customer&#39;s name, for example. The additional two or more participants, represented by  406 , are then called. 
         [0051]    The ICCBM system  100  preferably elicits an interactive prompt in which the call recipient is requested to respond by entering a number at the ACD keypad, for example. The recipient input is required to alleviate problems associated with calls that are accidentally placed to or picked-up by facsimile machines, answering machines, or PSTN system problems like dead air etc. 
         [0052]    After the appropriate response is received from the call-recipient, the pre-recorded introductory message made by the customer in step  404  is played to the call-recipient. The purpose of the introductory message is to provide a vehicle for the customer to invite the called party to accept the call, which might otherwise be confused with a telemarketing call. The call recipient may then agree in step  412  to participate in the conference call, thereby causing the calls to the customer  101  and party  104  to be bridged by TSP  120 . If the conference call is declined, the call is terminated  414  prior to being bridged  416  any conference call currently in progress. The steps of calling  408 , playing the recording  410 , confirming  412 , and bridging  416  are simultaneously repeated for each of the call recipients until each party is either brought into the conference call or disconnected. 
         [0053]    In some embodiments, prior to the actual calls being placed to the customer  101  and the call recipients, the customer may actively monitor the status of each pending call by means of an exemplary web page as illustrated in  FIG. 10 . As illustrated, the customer may note various contact numbers, and optionally delete  1010  these numbers prior to the calls being dialed. The remaining time prior to the execution of the conference call is depicted by outstanding schedule time  1008 . 
         [0054]    After the schedule time  1008  has expired, a first call is placed to the customer  101 , and subsequent calls then simultaneously placed with each of the call recipients. Concurrent with the dialing of the call recipients, the customer  101  has the option of monitoring the status of the conference by means of the exemplary graphical user interface illustrated in  FIG. 11 . A call controlling means including the user interface illustrated permits the customer to moderate the access and participation of each call recipient. For example, the customer can watch in real-time as each party is dialed  1110  and then connected  1108 . The customer interface  1100  may optionally include various call control tools including call muting  1112 , call hold  1114 , and call disconnect  1116 . These functions may be applied by the customer to each call recipient individually. 
         [0055]    During the conference call, the customer  101  has an option of adding additional participants  1118  into the conference by entry or selection of a contact number from the pre-existing contact numbers in the database  1120 . The additional call-recipient would then be dialed, connected, and bridged into the on-going conference call in the same manner described above. 
         [0056]    In some embodiments of the invention, call services of the TSP  120  are applied against a credit card, or are prepaid and the calls charged against an existing account balance. In the case of a prepaid account, the ICCBM system preferably estimates the cost of the conference, including the rate of the participants and the destination charges incurred, while the conference call is in progress. The estimated cost is compared against the remaining account balance of the customer. If a predetermined monetary threshold is triggered, the ICCBM system preferably alerts the customer  101  by transmitting a notice to the customer indicating the remaining call time available. The notification of the remaining account balance is communicated to the customer in audible form through the file switch  652 , or graphically via the customer interface  1100 . 
         [0057]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , a block diagram illustrating the bridging network underlying a conference call in the preferred embodiment is shown. The second bridging means  600  is primarily adapted to bridge the audio signals of three or more parties, which collectively constitute a conference call. Although the second bridging means  600  may be used to bridge calls between only two individuals, such an implementation comes at the cost of reduced signal to noise and increased demand on system resources. These resources may include software resources and or hardware control and switching, for example, both of which are utilized more efficiently according to the teachings of the present invention. 
         [0058]    One skilled in the art would recognize that this ICCBM system takes advantages of the technological advances that have led to proliferation of IP devices including the wireless 3G or 4G technologies that support IP as call control signaling standard by alleviating the “tandeming” (encoding, decoding at various points in the network) phenomenon associated with switching based systems resulting in significant quality and cost savings. Two audio communication devices, either mobile terminal or IP phone, may transmit digital packets directly to the ICCBM system which could then redirect the packets to the remote party for a one-to-one call. 
         [0059]    The input to the second bridging means  600  includes three or more input audio signals  606 - 609 , the audio signals being either analog signals or digital data in the form of packets depending on the preference of the TSP  120 . These audio signals  606 - 609  correspond to output signals originating from the customer ACD  103  and party ACD&#39;s  104  through  106 , illustrated in  FIG. 1 . In general, the second bridging means  600  decodes the input audio signals  606 - 609 , combines the signals such that each conference call participate receives the mixed audio signals of the other participants, and then encodes the mixed audio signals which are transmitted back to the appropriate ACM. 
         [0060]    The decoding means  601  decodes each of the input audio signals  606 - 609  by means of decoding operators  602 - 605 , respectively. The implementation of the decoding operators  602 - 609  will depend on format of the audio signal  606 - 609  (e.g. like PCM or ADPCM etc). The decoder, summer and encoder can also be implemented on a specialized hardware board comprising of DSP (digital signal processors) which would alleviate the system resources of a host based computer system including but not limited to Windows or UNIX operating systems. 
         [0061]    The decoded input audio signals  640 - 643  are switched or otherwise directed to mixing means  610 , which is comprised of sum operators  611 - 614 . Each of the sum operators  611 - 614  mixes two or more decoded input audio signals to create unencoded output audio signals  615 - 618 . The decoded input audio signals  640 - 643  are mixed such that each of the N participants of the conference call hears only the voices of the remaining N−1 participants. The unencoded output audio signals  615 - 618  are then conveyed to the encoding operators  621 - 624 , respectively, of the encoding means  620  where the signals are again encoded according to the convention implement. The encoded output audio signals  625 - 628  are then directed by means of the PSTN  130 , Internet  110 , or other equivalent means back to the appropriate ACD. 
         [0062]    In some embodiments, the second bridging means  600  further includes and audio file switch  652  used to “play” a pre-existing audio file, introduced above, to the call participants. The pre-existing audio file is provided to audio file switching means  652  as audio file input  650 . In response to the customer selection made available by the output means, an audio file is retrieved from the database  123 , streamed from the chat server  122 , and provided to the call participants my means of audio file switching means  652 . After the audio file has finished playing, in the preferred embodiment, the audio file input  650  is deselected and the output signals  654 - 657  are switched back, i.e. revert to the encoded output audio signals  625 - 628 . 
         [0063]    In some embodiments, switching means  652  is used to audibly notify the customer  101  of the available call time based upon the balance of a prepaid account Preferably, only the customer  101  may hear the notice. 
         [0064]    Referring to  FIG. 12 , a block diagram of the anonymous ICCBM system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, various communication interfaces, and transport media, is illustrated. An anonymous call as used herein refers to a call that is authorized by each of the participants to the call, but conducted in such manner so as to prevent the contact number of at least one participant from being learned by another participant. The anonymous ICCBM system  1200  may therefore be used to coordinate the calls between individuals who would like to engage one another in discussion without jeopardizing personal contact information. Potential applications of the system include, for example, call dating services where both participants may opt to keep their telephone number confidential until a greater degree of trust is established between the individuals; or an abuse hotline, for example, where the individual seeking counseling may effectively make themselves available to receive a call initiated by the counseling services while preserving one&#39;s anonymity. 
         [0065]    The anonymous ICCBM system  1200  includes the TSP  120  with a web server  121 , chat server  122 , and database  123  as described above. The TSP  120  is in this embodiment operatively coupled to an anonymous call back mediator (ACBM)  1220  with which the TSP  120  coordinates anonymous calls between a first customer  1201  and a second customer  1202 . The ACBM  1220  includes a web server  1221  operatively coupled to the Internet  110  as well as a call server  1222  and a database  1223 . One skilled in the art will recognize that the TSP  120  and the ACBM  1220  may also be separate computer systems operatively coupled by means of a direct communication line  1212 , or be integrated into a single system. 
         [0066]    According to this embodiment, a first customer  1201  and second customers  1202  are equipped with an interne appliance  1204  and  1208  and an ACD  1206  and  1210 , respectively. First and second customers  1201  and  1202  independently access the web server  1221  and optionally input at least one contact number at which each can be reached. Depending on the application, purpose, or business model, customers may also input various parameters or condition under which the customer would accept a call. For a dating service, for example, an individual may provide his or her likes and dislikes, which when matched to another customer may provide a potential dating opportunity. These parameters are then stored in an account maintained on the database  1223  where they are available to call server  1222 . If and when the anonymous call back conditions of the two or more customers are satisfied, the call server  1222  may make a web page available to the prospective participants to coordinate a call. A web page, consistent with that illustrated in  FIG. 13 , may be used by first customer  1201  to input his contact number  1302  and authorize a call between the first customer and a second customer B  1304  selected from the available list. If authorized by both prospective participants, the call server  1222  conveys both contact numbers to the chat server  122 . Upon receipt of the contact numbers, chat server  122  places calls to the first and seconds customers, which are thereafter bridged. In this manner, first and second customers are able to engage in a telephone call without either participant knowing the others telephone number. 
         [0067]    Although the above description contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, but rather as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. 
         [0068]    Therefore, the invention has been disclosed by way of example and not limitation, and reference should be made to the following claims to determine the scope of the present invention.