Systems and methods for managing the gating of microphones in a multi-pod conference system

1. A method of gating a multi-pod conferencing system for local conference participants to communicate with remote conference participants, comprising:

providing a plurality of pods for local conference participants wherein an individual pod connects to one or more said plurality of pods through a data communication means for communicating data and audio data to and from another said individual pod, said individual pods further comprise:

providing pod processor means for providing communication and interpretation facilities for data and commands and for providing audio processing for various pod functions;

converting digital audio to analog audio with a loudspeaker that couples to a digital to analog converter and said pod processor means;

using analog to digital converting means for converting the analog audio to digital audio with three physical bi-polar microphones positioned at 120 degree intervals in the horizontal resting plane of the individual pod, each individual physical microphone connects to a pair of audio ports with each audio port being equal distance from said loudspeaker, said physical microphones couple to said pod processor means;

forming three virtual microphones for reducing common-mode noise using virtual microphone means for combining two or more said physical microphones into a virtual microphone;

echo cancelling sound between said physical microphones and or said virtual microphones and said loudspeaker using pod echo cancellation means for echo cancellation of sound; and

determining the best microphone of said physical microphones and or said virtual microphones to gate on or off by using a loudness value, a quietness counter, and a noise floor value using microphone gating means;

wherein said individual pod uses said microphone gating means to gate on or off said physical microphones and or said virtual microphones; and

determining the best individual pod to gate on or off using said computed values of said microphone gating means using pod gating means;

providing a base unit that couples to said plurality of pods through said data communication means for communicating data and audio data to and from said plurality of pods, said base unit further couples to a carrier medium that communicates audio data from the local conference participants to and from the remote conference participants, said base unit further comprises:

providing base controller means for providing control and computation facilities for various base functions, said base controller means couples to said converting means for converting audio data between said carrier medium and said data communication means;

wherein said computed values of said pod gating means is distributed to other said pods to gate said pods on and or off.

2. The claim of claim 1 wherein said carrier medium further comprises a telephone line and said base unit further comprises base echo cancellation means for echo cancellation of local audio.

3. The claim of claim 1 wherein said virtual microphone means further comprises providing common-mode noise rejection.

4. The claim of claim 1 wherein said microphone gating means only gates on or off a single said physical microphone or a single said virtual microphone at a time.

5. The claim of claim 1 wherein said pod gating means gates on or off one or more said individual pods at a time.

6. The claim of claim 1 wherein said microphone gating means only uses said virtual microphones for determining the best microphone to gate on or off.

7. A non-transitory program storage device readable by a programmable device that tangibly embodies a program of instructions executable by the programmable device to perform a method of gating a multi-pod conferencing system for local conference participants to communicate with remote conference participants, comprising:

providing a plurality of pods for local conference participants wherein an individual pod connects to one or more said plurality of pods through a data communication means for communicating data and audio data to and from another said individual pod, said individual pods further comprise:

providing pod processor means for providing communication and interpretation facilities for data and commands and for providing audio processing for various pod functions;

converting digital audio to analog audio with a loudspeaker that couples to a digital to analog converter and said pod processor means;

using analog to digital converting means for converting the analog audio to digital audio with three physical bi-polar microphones positioned at 120 degree intervals in the horizontal resting plane of the individual pod, each individual physical microphone connects to a pair of audio ports with each audio port being equal distance from said loudspeaker, said physical microphones couple to said pod processor means;

forming three virtual microphones for reducing common-mode noise using virtual microphone means for combining two or more said physical microphones into a virtual microphone;

echo cancelling sound between said physical microphones and or said virtual microphones and said loudspeaker using pod echo cancellation means for echo cancellation of sound; and

determining the best microphone of said physical microphones and or said virtual microphones to gate on or off by using a loudness value, a quietness counter, and a noise floor value using microphone gating means;

wherein said individual pod uses said microphone gating means to gate on or off said physical microphones and or said virtual microphones; and

determining the best individual pod to gate on or off using said computed values of said microphone gating means using pod gating means;

providing a base unit that couples to said plurality of pods through said data communication means for communicating data and audio data to and from said plurality of pods, said base unit further couples to a carrier medium that communicates audio data from the local conference participants to and from the remote conference participants, said base unit further comprises:

providing base controller means for providing control and computation facilities for various base functions, said base controller means couples to said converting means for converting audio data between said carrier medium and said data communication means;

wherein said computed values of said pod gating means is distributed to other said pods to gate said pods on and or off.

8. The claim of claim 7 wherein said carrier medium further comprises a telephone line and said base unit further comprises base echo cancellation means for echo cancellation of local audio.

9. The claim of claim 7 wherein said virtual microphone means further comprises providing common-mode noise rejection.

10. The claim of claim 7 wherein said microphone gating means only gates on or off a single said physical microphone or a single said virtual microphone at a time.

11. The claim of claim 7 wherein said pod gating means gates on or off one or more said individual pods at a time.

12. The claim of claim 7 wherein said microphone gating means only uses said virtual microphones for determining the best microphone to gate on or off.