IP Library Granted Patent US 10,389,771
Granted Patent B2
US 10,389,771 · App. 15/549,879 · Granted Aug 20, 2019

Method for transmitting data in a multimedia system, and software product and device for controlling the transmission of data in a multimedia system

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,389,771
App. No.
15/549,879
Granted
Aug 20, 2019
Kind
B2
Abstract

Method and software product for transferring data, plus equipment for controlling data transfer in a multimedia system that includes a group of participants' terminals, with which multimedia data generated by participants' terminals contained in the group are sent to one or more participants' terminals contained in the group and played back there. A central synchronization unit generates synchronization labels containing time information and sends them to the participants' terminals contained in the group, and the synchronization labels are used to play back information in modified time.

Claims (18)

1. A method for transmitting data in a multimedia system that includes a group including participants' terminals, with which multimedia data generated by participants' terminals contained in the group are sent to one or more participants' terminals contained in the group and played back there, comprising:

generating synchronization labels through a central synchronization unit, said synchronization labels containing time information, and sending them to the participants' terminals contained in the group;

receiving the synchronization labels through each of the participants' terminals contained in the group, attaching the received synchronization labels to the multimedia data generated in the participants' terminal, and sending the multimedia data with the received synchronization labels attached to the central synchronization unit;

receiving, through the central synchronization unit the multimedia data with the attached synchronization labels, modifying the time information contained in the synchronization labels according to a time context for the multimedia data sent by the participants' terminals, and sending the multimedia data to the participants' terminals to be played back; and

receiving the multimedia data with the attached modified synchronization labels through the participants' terminals and playing back the multimedia data in the time context corresponding to the modified time information contained in the synchronization labels.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the central synchronization unit receives the multimedia data with synchronization labels and modifies the time information contained in the synchronization labels corresponding to the control information, which takes into account the properties of the participants' terminals that are sending and receiving the multimedia data and the properties of the transmission path.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the control information is contained in a control table located in the central synchronization unit, wherein the control table generates the synchronization labels, said synchronization labels containing at least one context tag that describes the way the medium is used in the conversation, one conversation tag representing a unit of order for all the conversations managed by the central synchronization unit, and one media tag describing the type of medium.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the control information corresponding to which the time information contained in the synchronization labels is modified is dynamically adapted.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multimedia data are transmitted in the form of data packets and respective synchronization labels are assigned to the data packets.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein data packets are transmitted with differing period lengths, and wherein synchronization labels are generated corresponding to a periodic time sequence whose period length is equal to or shorter than the length of the data packet with the shortest period length.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the synchronization labels contain a time stamp.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the synchronization labels contain a respective sequential value based on a preset starting time and corresponding to the respective time.

9. A software product that is stored on a computer-readable medium and can preferably be installed directly into the internal memory of a computer, wherein said product comprises the program code for a computer program enabling a computer to carry out the steps of claim 1 , when the program is run on a computer.

10. A system for controlling data transfer in a multimedia system, comprising:

a group of participants' terminals with which multimedia data generated by participants' terminals contained in the group are sent to one or more participants' terminals contained in the group and played back there, comprising:

central synchronization unit generating synchronization labels containing time information and sending them to each of the participants' terminals contained in the group, wherein the participants' terminals receive the synchronization labels and attach the received synchronization labels to the multimedia data generated in the participant's terminal and send the multimedia data with the received synchronization labels attached to the central synchronization unit, and

wherein the central synchronization unit receives the multimedia data with the attached synchronization labels from the participants' terminals and modifies the time information contained in the synchronization labels according to a time context for the multimedia data by the participants' terminals and sends the multimedia data to the participants' terminals,

wherein the multimedia data with the attached modified synchronization labels is received in the participants' terminals and played back in the time context corresponding to the modified time information contained in the synchronization labels.

Assignments (6)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 14, 2023
From: RINGCENTRAL, INC.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 062973/0194 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 1, 2022
From: RINGCENTRAL IP HOLDINGS, INC.
To: RINGCENTRAL, INC.
Reel/Frame 058852/0274 →
CONFIDENTIAL PATENT AGREEMENT Recorded Dec 21, 2020
From: UNIFY GMBH & CO. KG
To: UNIFY PATENTE GMBH & CO. KG
Reel/Frame 054822/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 31, 2020
From: UNIFY SOFTWARE AND SOLUTIONS GMBH & CO. KG; UNIFY PATENTE GMBH & CO. KG
To: RINGCENTRAL IP HOLDINGS, INC.
Reel/Frame 053369/0650 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 31, 2020
From: RINGCENTRAL IP HOLDINGS, INC.
To: RINGCENTRAL, INC.
Reel/Frame 053375/0982 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 16, 2018
From: KLUG, KARL; KLEINER, PATRICK
To: UNIFY GMBH & CO. KG
Reel/Frame 044954/0521 →