JP2010050930A - Communication equipment, communication system, communication method, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accomplish a communication system which can continue data communication without interruption when switching a communication terminal which performs the data communication. <P>SOLUTION: A communication terminal 10A includes an IP communication section 27 simultaneously communicable with two communication terminals 10B and 10C, and further includes: a first communication control section 94 for controlling to exchange data with the communication terminal 10B by starting a session with the communication terminal 10B; a message receiving section 97 for acquiring an instruction signal about a transmission destination of the data; a second communication control section 94 for controlling to start a session with the communication terminal 10C upon acquisition of the instruction signal to change a partner to transmit the data thereto from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C; and a switching processing section 95 for controlling to change the partner to transmit the data thereto from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C upon acquisition, from the communication terminal 10C, a signal indicating the completion of preparation for the communication terminal 10C to receive the data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system, a communication terminal, a communication method, a program, and a recording medium that transmit and receive multimedia data including video, audio, and other digital data via a network.

  In recent years, network speeds have increased and hardware performance has been improved. Also, multimedia content streaming distribution services on the Internet are becoming widespread. Specifically, a video distribution service by a content provider, a service for posting content and sharing it with users, and the like have also appeared.

  Also, IP television is being studied, and services such as live streaming distribution using a model similar to that for broadcasting TV programs are also being prepared. In addition, these services can be used from low-quality content for multimedia-compatible mobile devices to high-quality content for high-performance personal computers connected to optical lines as the network speeds up and quality increases. It has become.

  In such multimedia streaming distribution, users can enjoy content in various viewing environments such as mobile phones, personal computers, and set-top boxes. However, when the user changes the viewing environment, there arises a problem that it is necessary to stop the reproduction of streaming once, access the streaming server with another reproducing apparatus, and restart the streaming delivery again.

In order to solve the above problem, there is a system in which the reproduction is continued with a new device while maintaining the reproduction state of the content information that the user was viewing. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).
JP 2003-348556 A (released on December 5, 2003) JP 2003-324444 A (published November 14, 2003)

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, for example, in the case of live streaming distribution in which content is distributed according to a program guide, such as TV broadcasting, or in the case where data communication is performed in real time such as a videophone, each time the device is changed. In this case, the reproduction is interrupted and the user's convenience is impaired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to switch communication terminals for data communication in two-way data communication such as streaming distribution of multimedia contents and videophone calls. Another object of the present invention is to realize a communication system that can continue data communication without interruption.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the communication device according to the present invention is a communication device including a communication unit capable of communicating with at least two communication terminals simultaneously, and starts a session with the first communication terminal. A first communication control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit / receive data to / from the first communication terminal, and an instruction signal acquisition that acquires an instruction signal related to the transmission destination of the data via the communication unit And when the instruction signal acquisition means acquires the instruction signal instructing to change the partner to which a part or all of the data is transmitted from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal. A second communication control means for controlling the communication unit to start a session with the terminal; and a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to receive data. From terminal And a transmission destination changing means for controlling the communication unit to change the partner to transmit a part or all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal. It is characterized by providing.

  The communication method according to the present invention is a communication method in a communication device including a communication unit capable of simultaneously communicating with at least two communication terminals, and starts a session with the first communication terminal, and A first communication control step for controlling the communication unit so as to transmit / receive data to / from a communication terminal; an instruction signal acquisition step for acquiring an instruction signal related to the transmission destination of the data via the communication unit; In the instruction signal acquisition step, when an instruction signal instructing to change the partner to transmit a part or all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal is acquired, A second communication control step for controlling the communication unit to start a session, and a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to receive data. Transmission obtained from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, the transmission unit that controls the communication unit to change the partner to transmit part or all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal. A change step.

  According to the above configuration, the communication device includes a communication unit that can communicate with at least two communication terminals simultaneously, and before the communication partner starts data transmission / reception, the communication partner starts data transmission / reception. Because it is possible to start transmission of data after the communication partner is ready to communicate, it is possible to send and receive data even when transmitting real-time data, etc. There is an effect that transmission / reception of new data can be started without interruption.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the communication device according to the present invention is a communication device including a communication unit capable of communicating with at least two communication terminals simultaneously, and starts a session with the first communication terminal. A first communication control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit and receive data to and from the first communication terminal, and an instruction signal acquisition that acquires an instruction signal related to the communication destination of the data via the communication unit And when the instruction signal acquisition means acquires the instruction signal instructing to change the partner that transmits or receives part or all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal. A second communication control unit that controls the communication unit to start a session with the terminal; and a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to transmit and receive data. Terminal A communication destination changing means for controlling the communication unit so as to change the partner for transmitting / receiving part or all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal. The instruction signal acquisition means acquires the instruction signal from only the first communication terminal via the communication unit.

  The communication method according to the present invention is a communication method in a communication device including a communication unit capable of simultaneously communicating with at least two communication terminals, and starts a session with the first communication terminal, and A first communication control step for controlling the communication unit to transmit and receive data to and from a communication terminal; and an instruction signal acquisition step for acquiring an instruction signal related to a communication destination of the data via the communication unit; In the instruction signal acquisition step, when an instruction signal instructing to change the partner to transmit / receive part or all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal is acquired, A second communication control step for controlling the communication unit to start a session, and a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to transmit and receive data. When acquired from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, the communication unit is controlled to change the partner for transmitting / receiving part or all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal. A communication destination changing step, wherein the instruction signal acquiring step acquires the instruction signal from only the first communication terminal via the communication unit.

  According to said structure, since the instruction | indication regarding the transmission destination of a data and a communication destination should just monitor the control signal from a 1st communication terminal, there exists an effect that a monitoring process can be simplified. When the second communication terminal has a function of transmitting the instruction signal to the first communication terminal, the second communication terminal can also give the instruction.

  A communication apparatus according to the present invention is a communication apparatus including a communication unit capable of simultaneously communicating with at least two communication terminals, and starts a session with the first communication terminal, and communicates with the first communication terminal. First communication control means for controlling the communication unit so as to transmit and receive data, instruction signal acquisition means for acquiring an instruction signal related to the communication destination of the data via the communication part, and the instruction signal acquisition means Receives the instruction signal instructing to change the partner to transmit and receive all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal, the communication is started so as to start a session with the second communication terminal. A second communication control means for controlling a unit and a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to transmit and receive data from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, De Communication destination changing means for controlling the communication section so as to change the partner for transmitting and receiving all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal, and the first communication control means It is characterized in that a session with the first communication terminal is maintained even when the other party that transmits and receives all of the data is changed from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal by the communication destination changing means.

  The communication method according to the present invention is a communication method in a communication device including a communication unit capable of simultaneously communicating with at least two communication terminals, and starts a session with the first communication terminal, and A first communication control step for controlling the communication unit to transmit and receive data to and from a communication terminal; and an instruction signal acquisition step for acquiring an instruction signal related to a communication destination of the data via the communication unit; In the instruction signal acquisition step, when an instruction signal instructing to change the partner for transmitting and receiving all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal is acquired, a session with the second communication terminal is started. A second communication control step for controlling the communication unit, and a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to transmit and receive data. A communication destination changing step of controlling the communication unit so as to change, from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal, a partner that transmits and receives all of the data when acquired from the communication terminal via the communication unit. In the first communication control step, even if the other party that transmits and receives all of the data is changed from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal by the communication destination changing unit, the communication with the first communication terminal is performed. It is characterized by maintaining a session.

  According to the above configuration, since the first session is maintained even when the data transmission / reception partner is changed, it is quick to restore the data transmission / reception partner from the second communication terminal to the first communication terminal. Can be done. At this time, an instruction signal for restoring the partner to which data is transmitted and received from the second communication terminal to the first communication terminal may be acquired from the first communication terminal, or may be acquired from the second communication terminal. Good. It is also possible to continue to transmit and receive the first communication terminal and the data communication terminal.

  In the above communication device, of the first and second communication terminals, the information on the processing capacity of the data in the transmission destination terminal that is the communication terminal that is the transmission destination of the data, and the communication status with the transmission destination terminal A destination information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of the information via the communication unit; and data to be transmitted to the destination terminal is converted to match the information acquired by the destination information acquisition unit It is preferable to further comprise data conversion means for

  According to the above configuration, the communication apparatus acquires at least one of the information on the processing capability of the data in the transmission destination terminal and the information on the communication status with the transmission destination terminal. It is possible to grasp the above and convert the data in accordance with the data processing capacity and the communication status, and the data communication can be performed.

  A communication system capable of producing the same effects as described above by including the first and second communication terminals described above and the communication apparatus described above capable of communicating simultaneously with the first and second communication terminals. Can be configured.

  The communication system including the communication device and the communication terminal may be realized by a computer. In this case, the communication terminal that realizes the information management device by the computer by operating the computer as each of the means. In addition, a control program for a communication system and a computer-readable recording medium on which the control program is recorded also fall within the scope of the present invention.

  When the communication device according to the present invention obtains a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to receive data from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, part or all of the data Transmission destination changing means for controlling the communication unit so as to change the partner to transmit the message from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal.

  The communication method according to the present invention obtains a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to receive data from the second communication terminal via the communication unit. A transmission destination changing step of controlling the communication unit to change a part or all of the other party to be transmitted from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal.

  According to the above configuration, since transmission of data can be started after the communication partner is ready for communication, transmission / reception of new data without interrupting transmission / reception of data even when transmitting real-time data or the like is possible. There is an effect that it can be started.

  In addition, the communication device according to the present invention obtains a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to transmit and receive data from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, and then part of the data. Or a communication destination changing means for controlling the communication unit so as to change the other party to transmit and receive all from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal, and the instruction signal acquisition means is only for the first communication terminal. An instruction signal is acquired from the communication unit via the communication unit.

  The communication method according to the present invention obtains a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to transmit and receive data from the second communication terminal via the communication unit. Or a communication destination changing step for controlling the communication unit so as to change the other party to transmit and receive all from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal. In the instruction signal obtaining step, the first communication terminal The instruction signal is acquired from only through the communication unit.

  According to said structure, since the instruction | indication regarding the transmission destination of a data and a communication destination should just monitor the control signal from a 1st communication terminal, there exists an effect that a monitoring process can be simplified.

  In the communication device according to the present invention, when a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to transmit and receive data is acquired from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, all data is transmitted and received. Communication destination changing means for controlling the communication section so as to change the communication partner from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal. The first communication control means uses the communication destination changing means to transfer all of the data. Even if the party to be transmitted and received is changed from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal, the session with the first communication terminal is maintained.

  In addition, the communication method according to the present invention obtains a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to transmit and receive data from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, and then acquires all of the data. A communication destination changing step for controlling the communication unit so as to change the transmission / reception partner from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal. In the first communication control step, the communication destination changing means Even if the other party who transmits and receives the whole communication is changed from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal, the session with the first communication terminal is maintained.

  According to the above configuration, since the first session is maintained even when the data transmission / reception partner is changed, it is quick to restore the data transmission / reception partner from the second communication terminal to the first communication terminal. The effect that it can be performed is produced.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system using a communication terminal according to the present embodiment. The communication system in the present embodiment includes a communication terminal (communication device) 10A, a communication terminal (first communication terminal) 10B, and a communication terminal (second communication terminal) 10C. Each communication terminal is connected to the Internet 70 via access networks 72A to 72C.

  In the following, a case where the access networks 72A and 72B are mobile communication networks (mobile phone lines) and the access network 72C is a fixed telephone line network (broadband) will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The mobile communication network and the fixed telephone line network are connected via the Internet, and each communication terminal may have any configuration as long as it can communicate with each other.

  In a communication system composed of a plurality of communication terminals connected as described above, the communication terminals 10A and 10B have established a communication connection with each other according to the protocol of the provider to be used, and then the communication terminals 10A and 10B have taken images. By sending the video and the collected sound to each other's terminal device, data communication such as streaming distribution or videophone is started.

  Here, after the user of the communication terminal 10B, which is a portable terminal, starts data communication with the communication terminal 10A, data communication is performed with a stationary communication terminal 10C connected to the Internet via a fixed telephone network such as a computer or a video phone. If it is desired to start the communication, the user needs to disconnect the data communication currently established at the communication terminal 10A and newly start data communication at the communication terminal 10C.

  In the communication system according to the present embodiment, when data communication from the communication terminal 10A to the communication terminal 10B is established, the communication state is not interrupted in the data communication from the communication terminal 10A to the communication terminal 10C, and the user is again connected. The purpose is to continue data communication without forcing unnecessary operations such as calling a communication terminal.

  Next, a specific configuration of each communication terminal will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A is a functional block diagram showing main parts of the communication terminal 10A and the communication terminal 10B in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, each of the communication terminal 10A and the communication terminal 10B is configured by a camera-equipped mobile phone.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the communication terminals 10A and 10B include an overall control unit 20, a multimedia processing unit 21, an IP communication unit (communication unit) 27, a camera 81, a microphone 82, a display device 83, a speaker 84, and a key input device. 85, an infrared interface 86, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) interface 87, and an agent processing unit 90.

  The multimedia processing unit 21 further includes a video encoding unit 22, an audio encoding unit 23, a video decoding unit 24, an audio decoding unit 25, and a text processing unit 26. The IP communication unit 27 further includes a transmission processing unit 28 and a reception processing unit 29.

  The overall control unit 20 is a control unit that comprehensively controls each unit of the communication terminal 10 (10A and 10B). The multimedia processing unit 21 is a processing unit that processes video, audio, text, and other data included in the received communication data. The IP communication unit 27 is a communication processing unit that, when performing data communication or multimedia communication via the Internet 70, performs line connection with a communication partner, controls transmission / reception of data, and transmits / receives data.

  The camera 81 is an optical input device for inputting an external still image or moving image as digital data. The microphone 82 is an input device for inputting audio data. The display device 83 is an image output device composed of a liquid crystal panel, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or the like. The speaker 84 is an audio output device for reproducing and outputting the audio of the received multimedia data.

  The key input device 85 is an input device including buttons, switches, a touch panel, a keyboard, and other input devices. The infrared interface 86 is a communication device that includes an infrared light emitting element and an infrared light receiving element and is used for high-speed communication over a short distance. The Bluetooth interface 87 is a wireless communication device for transmitting and receiving voice, video, and other data through wireless communication in accordance with the Bluetooth communication standard.

  The agent processing unit 90 stores various agent programs stored in the communication terminal 10 in advance or an agent program received from the communication terminal 10 of the communication partner, and implements various processes by executing the programs. It is a processing unit.

  Note that the agent program may be stored in the storage unit in the communication terminal 10, or the agent processing unit 90 may include a unique storage unit for storing the agent program therein. The agent program may be acquired from the outside via a network, or may be stored in the agent processing unit 90 via an external storage device.

  Next, with reference to FIG.2 (b), the structure of the communication terminal 10 (10C) provided with the large sized display apparatus is demonstrated. FIG. 2B is a functional block diagram showing the main part of the communication terminal 10C in the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the communication terminal 10C includes an overall control unit 20, a multimedia processing unit 21, an IP communication unit 27, a speaker 84, an infrared interface 86, a Bluetooth interface 87, a large screen display device 88, and an operation panel 89. And an agent processing unit 90. In addition, the same name and code | symbol are attached | subjected to the functional block with the same function, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The large screen display device 88 is constituted by a thin large liquid crystal panel or the like, and may be provided with a tuner function, a function for displaying an external input video, or the like. The operation panel 89 is an input device arranged on the housing of the communication terminal 10C for performing various operation inputs on the communication terminal 10C. Further, the infrared interface 86 of the communication terminal 10C has a function of accepting an operation input from a remote controller (not shown) in addition to the above-described infrared communication function.

  In this embodiment, the communication terminal 10 </ b> C is a stationary communication device using a broadband line such as a computer or a videophone device, and includes a large screen display device 88 and an operation panel 89. Further, compared to the communication terminals 10A and 10B, since there is no input device for inputting audio and video, the multimedia processing unit 21 also includes a processing unit (video decoding unit 24 or audio composite) that performs data decoding. Only the lower part 25) is provided, and the configuration of the encoding processing unit is omitted.

  In the present invention, the communication terminal only needs to have at least a communication function, an agent function described later, and a multimedia processing function, and a device such as a camera or a display device is not necessarily required.

  Next, detailed functions of the overall control unit 20 and the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing detailed functions of the overall control unit 20 and the agent processing unit 90.

  The overall control unit 20 further includes an agent generation unit 31, an agent registration unit 32, a message reception unit 33, and a message transmission unit 34. The agent processing unit 90 further includes an agent storage unit 91, an agent execution unit (data conversion unit) 92, a message transmission unit 96, and a message reception unit (instruction signal acquisition unit, transmission destination information acquisition unit) 97. . The agent execution unit 92 further includes a shared information generation unit 93, a communication control unit (first communication control unit, second communication control unit) 94, and a switching processing unit (transmission destination changing unit) 95.

  Next, a flow of processing for switching data communication established between the communication terminal 10A and the communication terminal 10B as data communication between the communication terminal 10A and the communication terminal 10C will be described with reference to FIGS. .

  FIG. 4 shows a flow of processing when switching data transmitted from the communication terminal 10A to the communication terminal 10B to be transmitted from the communication terminal 10A to the communication terminal 10C by an operation on the communication terminal 10B. FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data structure of an agent generated by the overall control unit 20 of each communication terminal. FIG. 6 is a table for explaining various parameters used when switching data communication between communication terminals. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of agent generation and transmission exchanged by the agent processing unit 90 of each communication terminal when the processing of FIG. 4 is performed. 8 and 9 are flowcharts showing the flow of processing for switching the communication terminals performed in FIG.

  First, with reference to FIG. 4, the flow of processing when switching communication terminals for establishing data communication will be described. In the following description, the communication terminal 10A as a transmission source is referred to as “Switcher” as a communication terminal for switching communication partners, the communication terminal 10B is referred to as “Release” as a communication terminal disconnected from data communication, and the communication terminal 10C is referred to as A communication terminal that is a partner to newly establish data communication is referred to as “Catcher”.

  First, the communication terminal 10A, which is “Switcher”, and the communication terminal 10B, which is “Release”, perform multimedia data communication (in this case, videophone communication). Multimedia data is transmitted from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10A, and at the same time, multimedia data is transmitted from the communication terminal 10A to the communication terminal 10B. The user of the communication terminal 10A and the user of the communication terminal 10B make a videophone call while referring to the transmitted multimedia data as the appearance of the communication partner.

  Here, the user of the communication terminal 10B thinks that the multimedia data received by the videophone call is to be displayed on the communication terminal 10C provided with the large screen display device 88, and performs an operation of switching data communication.

  In S100, when the user of the communication terminal 10B executes the receiving terminal switching operation using the key input device 85, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10B executes the receiving terminal switching operation using the agent generation unit 31. Then, an agent necessary to do this is generated, then necessary parameters are registered using the agent registration unit 32, and the agent is stored in the agent storage unit 91 of the agent processing unit 90 in the communication terminal 10B.

  Next, in S101, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10B generates a copy of the agent stored in the agent storage unit 91 of the agent processing unit 90 in S100, and transmits it to the communication terminal 10A via the network. .

  Note that the agent transmitted here includes a parameter indicating the status of data communication currently established in the communication terminal 10B and a parameter related to the communication terminal 10C corresponding to “Catcher” which is a partner to which data communication is switched. Yes. Specifically, in the agent program, the communication terminal 10A is registered as “Switcher”, the communication terminal 10B as “Release”, and the communication terminal 10C as “Catcher”.

  Thereafter, in S102, the communication terminal 10A sends back a reception confirmation indicating that the agent transmitted in S101 has been received to the communication terminal 10B, and registers the agent and parameters received in S103 in the agent processing unit 90. Upon receiving the agent reception confirmation transmitted in S102, the communication terminal 10B transmits an agent to the communication terminal 10C in S104. Note that the agent transmitted here includes a parameter indicating the status of data communication currently established in the communication terminal 10B, and a parameter related to the communication terminal 10A corresponding to “Switcher” that is the source of data communication. .

  Upon receiving the agent and parameters transmitted from the communication terminal 10B via the Bluetooth interface 87 in S104, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10C performs processing for registering the received agent in the agent processing unit 90 in S105. . The agent registered in the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10C prepares to start reception from the communication terminal 10A, which is “Switcher”, using the received parameter.

  In S106, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10C transmits a communication session establishment request to the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A in order to notify that preparation for starting data communication is completed. The session establishment request transmitted from the communication terminal 10C to the communication terminal 10A includes parameters as shown in FIG. Upon receiving the session establishment request transmitted from the communication terminal 10C in S106, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A transmits a response to the communication establishment request in S107.

  In S108, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10C refers to the parameter included in the response message, and informs the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A that the response to the session establishment request in S107 has been received. Acknowledge (ACK) is transmitted to the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A, and in S109, a reception start instruction for receiving communication data from the communication terminal 10A is transmitted to the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10C.

  After receiving the ACK of S108, the communication terminal 10A instructs the central control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10A to change the transmission destination of the multimedia communication data, and controls the IP communication unit 27 in S110. Processing to change the transmission destination of communication data is performed. Upon receiving the change instruction, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10A switches the data communication with respect to the communication terminal 10B to transmission to the communication terminal 10C at this time.

  In S111, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A notifies the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10B that preparation for transmitting multimedia communication data is completed. In S112, in response to the multimedia communication data transmission completion notification notified in S111, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10B sends an ACK indicating completion of reception of the completion notification to the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A. Send.

  In S113, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10B notifies the overall control unit 20 that the reception of the multimedia communication data has been completed. In response to this, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10B continues to communicate with the IP communication unit 27 of the communication terminal 10A via the IP communication unit 27, and transmits an image of the user of the communication terminal 10B. Further, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10A starts communication with the IP communication unit 27 of the communication terminal 10C via the IP communication unit 27, and transmits the video of the user of the communication terminal 10A to the communication terminal 10C.

  Through the above procedure, in the data communication (videophone communication) performed between the communication terminal 10A and the communication terminal 10B, the video display process is switched to the communication terminal 10C, and the video and audio transmission process is switched to the communication terminal 10B. The process is continued.

  Here, referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, various parameters used when data communication established between communication terminal 10A and communication terminal 10B is switched as data communication between communication terminal 10A and communication terminal 10C. Will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a table of parameters and agent programs transmitted as an agent. In the table of FIG. 5, the data transmitted as the agent includes “agent ID (100)”, “Switcher ID (101)”, “Release ID (102)”, “Catcher ID (103)”, “Agent Issuer information (104) "," operation information (105) ", and" agent program body (106) "are shown.

  “Agent ID (100)” indicates identification information for identifying the transmitted agent, and a unique ID is assigned when the agent is generated. This ID can be described by a numerical value or an arbitrary character string. The same ID is also assigned to the copied agent.

  “Switcher ID (101)”, “Release ID (102)”, and “Catcher ID (103)” indicate identification information for identifying communication terminals having respective roles. Specifically, For example, it is described by an IP address on the network, a URL, a MAC address, a telephone number, and other network addresses.

  “Agent issuer information (104)” indicates information of a communication terminal in which the agent is generated. The generated communication terminal is set similarly to the ID of each communication terminal.

  “Operation information (105)” describes various parameters necessary for switching data communication. Specifically, designation of multimedia data communication to be switched, designation of newly established multimedia data communication, switching method of multimedia data communication, switching order of multimedia data communication, and other communication parameters, etc. Is included.

  In the example of switching of communication terminal 10A, communication terminal 10B, and communication terminal 10C shown in FIG. 4, multimedia data transmitted from communication terminal 10A to communication terminal 10B is used for multimedia data communication to be switched. On the other hand, in the newly established multimedia data communication, multimedia data communication to be transmitted from the communication terminal 10A to the communication terminal 10C is specified.

  Furthermore, the switching method is specified to execute switching while maintaining reproduction, and the switching order of multimedia data communication is after the multimedia data transmission from the communication terminal 10A to the communication terminal 10C is started. The information that the transmission of multimedia data from the communication terminal 10A to the communication terminal 10B is terminated is described.

  The “agent program body (106)” includes an agent program itself for performing various processes. The agent program transmitted here may be the entire agent program having all functions, or may be a part of a module of the agent program including only necessary functions.

  FIG. 6 is a table showing an example of parameters transferred when the capability of the communication terminal is exchanged as function information.

  For the communication terminal that transmits the parameters shown in FIG. 6A, when transmitting multimedia data to a different communication terminal, “video encoding method that can be used for transmission (201)” and “available for transmission”. "Non-voice encoding method (202)" and "Presence / absence of transmission of text data (data other than video and audio) (203)", while receiving multimedia data from different communication terminals, Specify "Video encoding method that can be used for reception (204)", "Audio encoding method that can be used for reception (205)", and "Presence / absence of reception of text data (data other than video and audio) (206)" can do. It also indicates that the function information is exchanged including the “line speed (207)” that can be used for multimedia data transmission / reception.

  FIG. 6B shows a specific example of the parameters shown in FIG. 6A in the example of switching between the communication terminal 10A, the communication terminal 10B, and the communication terminal 10C shown in FIG. For example, when the communication terminal 10A supports “H.264, MPEG4” as the video encoding method and “AMR, AAC” as the audio encoding method and does not support transmission / reception of text data, FIG. Parameters as shown in column a of 6 (b) are set.

  That is, the capability information transmitted from the communication terminal 10A to another communication terminal is “H.264, MPEG4” in “Video encoding method usable in transmission” (201), and “Available in transmission”. “AMR, AAC” for “Speech Speech Coding” (202), and “NO” indicating that text transmission is not performed for “Presence / absence of text data transmission” (203) is “available for reception”. “Video coding method” (204) is “H.264, MPEG4”, “Audio coding method available for reception” (205) is “AMR, AAC”, “Text data is received” 206) is designated "NO" indicating that no text is received. When the communication line speed that can be used by the communication terminal 10A is 10 Mbps in the transmission direction and 20 Mbps in the reception direction, the values “U: 10 Mbps, D: 20 Mbps” are designated in the “line speed” (207). .

  Similarly, a column b in FIG. 6B shows a specific example of the communication terminal 10B, and a column c in FIG. 6B shows a specific example of the communication terminal 10C. Since the communication terminal 10C does not include an encoding processing unit, it cannot perform video and audio encoding. Therefore, “video encoding method usable for transmission” (201), “audio usable for transmission”. In the “encoding method” (202), a value of “NONE” which means that the capability is not held is designated.

  In the above parameters, when the capability information shown in columns a and b in FIG. 6B is exchanged, the data communication to be switched and retrieved handles both video information and audio information. Can do. On the other hand, when the function information as shown in the column c is exchanged, it is possible to switch only the reception direction of video information and audio information in data communication.

  By utilizing these capability exchanges, for example, data communication including both video and audio received by the communication terminal 10A can be performed with the communication terminal 10B configured as a display that can only display video and audio playback. An embodiment is also possible in which the communication terminal 10C configured as a speaker amplifier that can only perform switching is separated and switched.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 7, the data exchanged in the overall control unit 20 of each communication terminal and the flow of processing in the switching process described in FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of an agent program and parameter transmission / reception process exchanged between the communication terminals 10.

  When the process is started, first, in S201, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10 generates an agent. This is processing corresponding to S100 in FIG. 4 and S120 in FIG. In step S <b> 202, the overall control unit 20 registers the generated agent in the agent processing unit 90.

  Thereafter, in S203, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10 determines whether or not the communication terminal 10 that is performing the processing is the communication terminal 10B (Release) that is disconnected from the established data communication. In the case of the communication terminal 10B (Release) from which the own device is disconnected (YES in S203), the process proceeds to S204. If it is not the communication terminal 10B (Release) from which its own device is disconnected (NO in S203), the process proceeds to S208.

  In S204, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10 performs a process of transmitting the agent generated in S201 to the communication terminal 10A (Switcher) that is the transmission source (corresponding to S101 in FIG. 4). In S205, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10 enters a standby state in which it waits for a response from the communication terminal 10A (Switcher) that is the transmission partner that transmitted the agent in S204.

  In S206, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10 determines whether or not there is a response from the communication terminal 10A (Switcher) that is the transmission source. If there is a response from the source communication terminal 10A (Switcher) (YES in S206), the process proceeds to S207. If there is no response from the source communication terminal 10A (Switcher) (NO in S206), the process returns to S205.

  In S207, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10 performs a process of transmitting an agent to the communication terminal 10C (Catcher) that is a partner to which data communication is switched (corresponding to S104 in FIG. 4), and a series of processes Exit.

  In S <b> 208, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10 determines whether or not the communication terminal 10 that is performing the processing is the communication terminal 10 </ b> C (Catcher) that is a partner for switching data communication. If the own apparatus is the communication terminal 10C (Catcher) that is the other party to which data communication is switched (YES in S208), the process proceeds to S209. If the own apparatus is not the communication terminal 10C (Catcher) of the other party that switches data communication (NO in S208), an error code is generated and the process is interrupted.

  In S209, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10 performs a process of transmitting an agent to the communication terminal 10B disconnected from the data communication (S121 in FIG. 10), and ends the series of processes.

  Next, the flow of processing when the overall control unit 20 switches the communication terminal 10 that establishes data communication will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of data and processing exchanged between the communication terminals 10.

  First, when the process of switching the communication terminal 10 that performs data communication is started in S301, the message receiving unit 33 in the overall control unit 20 performs a process of receiving a message. This message is an agent reception instruction transmitted from another communication terminal, or a transmission instruction or transmission completion notification sent to the overall control unit 20 by processing of a message received by the agent processing unit 90 in its own terminal. This is information for notifying or instructing a reception start instruction and other states.

  The overall control unit 20 that has received the message first checks whether the message is a message transmitted from the agent processing unit 90 in the terminal itself or whether the message is a message transmitted from another communication terminal. If the received message is a transmission message from the agent processing unit 90 (YES in S320), the process proceeds to S308. On the other hand, if the received message is not a transmission message from the agent processing unit 90 (NO in S320), the process proceeds to S302.

  In S302, it is determined whether the received message transmitted from another communication terminal is an instruction to receive the agent. If the message is an agent reception instruction (YES in S302), the process proceeds to S303. If the message is not an agent reception instruction (NO in S302), the process proceeds to S321.

  In S303, the agent registration unit 32 in the overall control unit 20 refers to the received agent and determines whether or not the role of its own device as a communication terminal is “Switcher” that is a communication terminal for switching communication partners. To do. If the role of the own device is “Switcher” (YES in S303), the process proceeds to S304. If the role of the own device is not “Switcher” (NO in S303), the process proceeds to S305.

  In S <b> 304, the overall control unit 20 outputs an agent reception confirmation response via the message transmission unit 34. The output agent reception confirmation response is transmitted to “Release” which is a communication terminal disconnected from the data communication via the message receiving unit 33 of the overall control unit 20 and the transmission processing unit 28 of the IP communication unit 27 (FIG. 4). Corresponding to S102).

  In S305, the agent registration unit 32 in the overall control unit 20 refers to the received agent, and determines whether or not the role of its own device as a communication terminal is “Release” which is a communication terminal to be disconnected from data communication. to decide. When the role of the own device is “Release” (YES in S305), the process proceeds to S306. If the role of the own device is not “Release” (NO in S305), the process proceeds to S307.

  In S306, the agent registration unit 32 in the overall control unit 20 performs processing for updating and transferring the agent. Specifically, the role information of each communication terminal detected by the shared information generation unit 93 by the function of the agent executed via the agent execution unit 92, and the communication partner terminal managed by the communication control unit 94 The connection information such as the IP information is collected as one agent and transmitted to the communication terminal “Switcher” as the communication partner via the message transmission unit 96 and the overall control unit 20 (S122 in FIG. 10).

  Thereafter, in S307, the agent registration unit 32 of the overall control unit 20 registers the transmitted agent in the agent storage unit 91 of the agent processing unit 90 (S103 and S105 in FIG. 4, S124 and S125 in FIG. 10), and the series The agent send / receive processing ends.

  In S308, the switching processing unit 95 of the agent execution unit 92 determines whether there is an instruction to change transmission processing in data communication, that is, whether there is support for starting and stopping data communication. If there is an instruction to change the transmission process (YES in S308), the process proceeds to S309 (S110 in FIG. 4). If there is no instruction to change the transmission process (NO in S308), the process proceeds to S312.

  In step S <b> 309, the communication control unit 94 of the agent execution unit 92 gives an instruction to suspend the transmission processing performed by the transmission processing unit 28 via the message transmission unit 96. Thereafter, in S310, the switching processing unit 95 of the agent execution unit 92 refers to the shared information and resets the transmission destination. In step S311, the communication control unit 94 of the agent execution unit 92 instructs the transmission destination reset in step S310 to resume transmission processing, and ends the series of transmission switching processing.

  In S <b> 312, the communication control unit 94 of the agent execution unit 92 determines whether or not a reception completion instruction has been received from the message reception unit 97. If a reception completion instruction has been received (YES in S312), the process proceeds to S313. If the receiving bureaucracy instruction has not been received (NO in S312), the series of reception completion processing ends. In step S313, the communication control unit 94 of the agent execution unit 92 outputs an instruction for completing the reception process via the message transmission unit 96, and ends the series of reception completion processes.

  In S <b> 314, the communication control unit 94 of the agent execution unit 92 determines whether a reception start instruction has been received from the message reception unit 97. If a reception start instruction has been received (YES in S314), the process proceeds to S315. If the reception start instruction has not been received (NO in S314), the series of reception start instructions is terminated. In S315, the communication control unit 94 of the agent execution unit 92 outputs a support for starting reception of communication data such as multimedia data via the message transmission unit 96, and ends a series of reception start instructions.

  Through the series of processes described above, messages and agents are sent and received from the overall control unit 20 to the agent processing unit 90.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 9, the specific procedure of the data communication switching control performed internally by the agent processing unit 90 will be described in detail. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a specific procedure for switching control of data communication performed internally by the agent processing unit 90.

  First, in S401, when the process of switching the communication terminal 10 that performs data communication is started, the agent execution unit 92 of the agent processing unit 90 confirms the role information of the communication terminal 10 that is its own device with reference to the shared information. And determine the role of the agent.

  If the role of the agent is “Catcher” (YES in S402), the process proceeds to S403. If the role of the agent is not “Catcher” (NO in S402), the process proceeds to S410. When the role of the agent is Releaser (YES in S410), the process proceeds to S411. If the role of the agent is not Releaser (NO in S410), the process proceeds to S415. If the role of the agent is Switcher (YES in S415), the process proceeds to S416. If none of the roles is applicable (NO in S415), an error code is output and the process is stopped.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 9, the agent has been described as having all the functions of the Catcher, Rleaser, and Switcher, but the present invention is not limited to this. Based on the role information of each communication terminal 10, only the function executed by each communication terminal 10 may be transmitted as a division module in the agent. Moreover, the structure which transmits the module containing a required function to the target communication terminal 10 at a required timing may be sufficient.

  In step S403, the agent execution unit 92 of the agent processing unit 90 enters a reception standby state for an agent reception confirmation notification. If an agent reception confirmation notification has been received (YES in S404), the process proceeds to S405. When the agent reception confirmation notification is not received (NO in S404), the process returns to S403, and enters a reception confirmation waiting loop.

  In S <b> 405, the switching processing unit 95 of the agent execution unit 92 transmits a session establishment request via the message transmission unit 96 to the communication terminal 10 </ b> A of the switching target. The session establishment request transmitted from the message transmission unit 96 is transmitted from the overall control unit 20 to the target communication terminal 10A via the transmission processing unit 28 (corresponding to S106 in FIG. 4 and S126 in FIG. 10).

  In S406, the communication control unit 94 of the agent execution unit 92 enters a reception waiting state for a response message to the session establishment request transmitted in S405. If a response message to the session establishment request is received (YES in S407), the process proceeds to S408 (corresponding to S107 in FIG. 4). If a response message for the session establishment request is not received (NO in S407), the process returns to S406 and enters a request response waiting loop.

  In step S408, the communication control unit 94 of the agent execution unit 92 returns an ACK indicating that a response to the session establishment request has been received to the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A via the message transmission unit 96. In S409, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A that has received the ACK transmitted in S408 issues an instruction to start data communication such as multimedia data to the overall control unit 20 (corresponding to S109 in FIG. 4). The process as a series of catchers is terminated.

  In step S411, the agent execution unit 92 of the agent processing unit 90 enters a message reception standby state. If a multimedia transmission completion notification message is received (YES in S412), the process proceeds to S413. If the multimedia transmission completion notification message is not received (NO in S412), the process returns to S411 and enters a message reception waiting loop (corresponding to S112 in FIG. 10).

  In S413, the communication control unit 94 of the agent execution unit 92 transmits a response to the transmission completion notification to the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A via the message transmission unit 96. In S414, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A that has received the response notification transmitted in S413 notifies the overall control unit 20 of the completion of reception of the multimedia data (corresponding to S113 in FIG. 10), and a series of The processing as a Releaser is terminated.

  In S416, the communication control unit 94 of the agent execution unit 92 enters a reception waiting state for a message requesting session establishment. If a session establishment request is received (YES in S417), the process proceeds to S418 (corresponding to S106 in FIG. 4). If the session establishment request is not received (NO in S417), the process returns to S416 and enters a message reception waiting loop.

  In S418, the communication control unit 94 of the agent execution unit 92 transmits a response to the message requesting session establishment. In S419, the communication control unit 94 of the agent execution unit 92 enters a state of waiting for reception of an ACK for the response. When ACK is received (YES in S420), the process proceeds to S421 (corresponding to S108 in FIG. 4). If ACK has not been received (NO in S420), the process returns to S419, and enters a loop waiting for ACK reception.

  In S421, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A that has received the ACK in S420 issues an instruction to change the communication destination of data communication such as multimedia data to the overall control unit 20 (corresponding to S110 in FIG. 4). . In step S422, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A issues an instruction to notify the communication terminal 10B, which is a releaser, of a message notifying that data communication such as multimedia data has ended via the message transmission unit 96. (Corresponding to S111 in FIG. 4).

  Thereafter, in S423, an ACK for the end message transmitted in S422 is received from the communication terminal 10B which is a Releaser, and a series of processing as a Switcher is ended (corresponding to S112 in FIG. 4).

  The process for switching the communication terminal that establishes data communication is performed by the above procedure.

  In the procedure shown in FIG. 4, the communication is performed by the operation from the communication terminal 10B that has been performing data communication with the communication terminal 10A, but the communication that has not been performed with the communication terminal 10A before the switching is performed. Switching can be performed by an operation from the terminal 10C.

  FIG. 10 shows that multimedia data transmitted from the communication terminal 10A to the communication terminal 10B by the operation of the communication terminal 10B during the data communication between the communication terminal 10A and the communication terminal 10B is converted into the communication terminal 10A. It is a sequence diagram in the case of switching so that it may transmit with respect to 10 C of communication terminals from.

  In S120, when the user performs a receiving terminal switching operation on the communication terminal 10C, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10C causes the agent generation unit 31 to generate an agent program, and the agent registration unit 32 transfers the agent to the communication terminal 10C. Registered in the agent storage unit 91 (step S120).

  In the agent program generated here, the communication terminal 10B is registered as a Releaser and the communication terminal 10C is registered as a Catcher. However, since the communication terminal 10C cannot detect the presence of the communication terminal 10A at the start of the switching operation, Switcher information is not included.

  Immediately after this, the overall control unit of the communication terminal 10C transmits the generated agent program to the communication terminal 10B via the Bluetooth interface 87 (step S121).

  The overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10B that has received the agent updates the communication terminal 10A that is performing data communication in addition to the switcher information, and transmits the updated agent to the communication terminal 10A (step S122). The agent is registered in the agent processing unit 90 of the terminal 10B. (Step S123).

  The overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10A that has received the agent refers to the information related to the communication terminal 10 having the role of “Catcher” included in the agent, and transmits an agent reception confirmation message to the overall processing unit 20 of the communication terminal 10C. (Step S124), the agent is registered in the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A. (Step S125).

  On the other hand, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10C that has received the agent reception confirmation message instructs the agent processing unit 90 to execute the agent program, and transmits a session establishment request to the agent of the communication terminal 10A. (Step S126).

  The subsequent procedure is the same as that after step S106 in FIG.

  Next, a procedure for returning the data communication switched by the procedure shown in FIG. 4 or 10 to the original state will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a procedure for returning the data communication switched by the procedure shown in FIG. 4 to the original state again by operating the communication terminal 10B which is a Releaser.

  12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the overall control unit of each communication terminal in the sequence shown in FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the agent processing unit of each communication terminal in the sequence shown in FIG. . The recovery is performed via the agent generated and transmitted when the switching is executed.

  In S200, when the user starts a recovery operation on the communication terminal 10B, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10B instructs the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10B to execute the recovery. In S <b> 201, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10 </ b> B that has received the instruction to execute the recovery transmits a recovery request to the communication terminal 10 </ b> C that is the catcher.

  In S202, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10C that has received the recovery request returns an acknowledgment of the recovery request to the communication terminal 10B. In S203, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10B that has received the acceptance of the recovery request from the communication terminal 10C transmits the recovery request to the communication terminal 10A that is the next switcher. This retrieval request also includes information indicating that the communication terminal 10C has been accepted.

  In S204, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A that has received the recovery request from the communication terminal 10B returns a response to the communication terminal 10B to the effect that there is no problem in the execution of the recovery. In S205, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10B that has received the response from the communication terminal 10A confirms the content of the response and notifies the communication terminal 10A that the response has been received correctly. Thereafter, in S206, an instruction to receive multimedia data is issued to the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10B.

  In S207, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A that has received the confirmation notification from the communication terminal 10B makes an inter-communication control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10A with the communication terminal 10A and the communication terminal 10C that have been performed so far. In order to switch the data communication to the communication between the communication terminal 10A and the communication terminal 10B, an instruction to reset transmission / reception of the data communication is issued. At that time, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10A that has received the transmission / reset reset instruction changes the transmission destination of the data communication from the communication terminal 10C to the communication terminal 10B at this time.

  In S208, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10A that has instructed the data communication transmission / reception reset to the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10A notifies the communication terminal 10C of the end of the data communication. In S209, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10C that has received the notification of the end of data communication from the communication terminal 10A notifies the communication terminal 10A that the notification has been correctly received. In S210, the overall control unit of the communication terminal 10C. 20 is instructed to end the data reception process.

  Thereafter, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10C that has received an instruction to end the data reception process from the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10C ends the reception process of the data communication transmitted from the communication terminal 10A.

  On the other hand, FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram in the case where the recovery is executed by an operation from the communication terminal 10 </ b> C as a catcher by the user. Also in this case, similar to the procedure of FIG. 11, the retrieval is performed via the agent generated and transmitted when the switching is executed.

  When a recovery operation is started based on an operation from the communication terminal 10C by the user, in S220, the overall control unit 20 of the communication terminal 10C instructs the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10C to execute a recovery operation. .

  After that, in S221, the agent processing unit of the communication terminal 10C that has received the instruction to execute recovery transmits a recovery request to the communication terminal 10B that is a Releaser. In S22, the agent processing unit 90 of the communication terminal 10B that has received the recovery request returns an acknowledgment of the recovery request to the communication terminal 10C.

  In S223, after transmitting the acceptance of the retrieval request to the communication terminal 10C, the agent processing unit of the communication terminal 10B transmits the retrieval request to the communication terminal 10A that is the switcher. Note that this recovery request includes information indicating that the request is from the communication terminal 10C.

  Thereafter, similar to the procedure after step S204 in FIG. 11, the communication terminal 10A as the switch executes the procedure for retrieving data communication with the communication terminal 10B as the releaser, and the communication terminal 10A and the communication terminal 10B Data communication is resumed, and a procedure for ending the data communication is executed between the communication terminal 10A and the communication terminal 10C, and the data communication between the communication terminal 10A and the communication terminal 10C is ended.

  As described above, according to the communication terminal 10 of the present invention, content received from a streaming server can be viewed from a terminal having a display device with a small screen area, such as a mobile phone terminal, and a screen like a liquid crystal television. It is possible to switch a terminal having a large display device without interrupting streaming. Furthermore, the content displayed on the display device having a large screen can be in a high quality state suitable for the screen size, and the convenience for the user is improved.

  In addition, when switching is performed, only the video of the video content viewed on one communication terminal 10B is displayed on the communication terminal 10C having another display / playback function according to the designation method of the communication terminal 10. In addition, since the communication terminal 10D having another audio reproduction function can be configured to reproduce only the audio, it is possible to configure a communication system in which the user can select an optimal viewing terminal in accordance with the surrounding situation.

  As described above, the communication terminal 10A of the present embodiment is a communication terminal 10A including the IP communication unit 27 that can communicate with at least two communication terminals 10 (10B, 10C) at the same time, and performs a session with the communication terminal 10B. The communication control unit 94 that controls the IP communication unit 27 so as to transmit and receive data to and from the communication terminal 10B, and obtains an instruction signal related to the data transmission destination via the IP communication unit 27. When the message receiving unit 97 and the message receiving unit 97 obtain an instruction signal instructing to change the communication terminal 10B from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C, a session with the communication terminal 10C is acquired. A communication control unit 94 that controls the IP communication unit 27 to start, and a reception preparation that indicates that the communication terminal 10C is ready to receive data When the completion signal is acquired from the communication terminal 10C via the IP communication unit 27, the switching processing unit that controls the IP communication unit 27 to change the communication partner 10B to the communication terminal 10C as a party to which part or all of the data is transmitted. 95.

  In addition, the communication method according to the present invention is a communication method in the communication terminal 10A including the IP communication unit 27 capable of simultaneously communicating with at least two communication terminals 10 (10B, 10C), and starts a session with the communication terminal 10B. Then, the first communication control step for controlling the IP communication unit 27 to transmit / receive data to / from the communication terminal 10 </ b> B and the instruction signal regarding the data transmission destination are acquired via the IP communication unit 27. In the instruction signal acquisition step and in the instruction signal acquisition step, when an instruction signal instructing to change the communication terminal 10B from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C is obtained, a session with the communication terminal 10C is obtained. The second communication control step of controlling the IP communication unit 27 to start the communication, and the communication terminal 10C is ready to receive data When a reception preparation completion signal indicating completion is acquired from the communication terminal 10C via the IP communication unit 27, the other party that transmits part or all of the data is changed from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C. A transmission destination changing step for controlling the communication unit 27.

  According to the above configuration, the IP communication unit 27 that can communicate simultaneously with at least two communication terminals 10 (10B, 10C) is provided, and before the communication partner starts data transmission / reception, the communication partner transmits data. Since it notifies the reception preparation completion signal indicating that preparation for starting transmission / reception is completed, data transmission can be started after the communication partner is ready for communication, so even when transmitting real-time data etc. It is possible to start transmission / reception of new data without interrupting transmission / reception of data.

  The communication terminal 10A of the present embodiment is a communication terminal 10A including an IP communication unit 27 that can communicate with at least two communication terminals 10 (10A, 10B) at the same time, and starts a session with the communication terminal 10B. A communication control unit 94 that controls the IP communication unit 27 so as to transmit / receive data to / from the communication terminal 10B, and a message receiving unit that acquires an instruction signal related to the communication destination of the data via the IP communication unit 27 97, and when the message receiving unit 97 acquires an instruction signal instructing to change the communication terminal 10B from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C, the session with the communication terminal 10C is started. The communication control unit 94 that controls the IP communication unit 27 and the reception preparation completion indicating that the communication terminal 10C is ready to transmit and receive data. When the signal is acquired from the communication terminal 10C via the IP communication unit 27, the switching processing unit 95 that controls the IP communication unit 27 so as to change the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C as the other party that transmits or receives part or all of the data. The message receiving unit 97 acquires the instruction signal via the IP communication unit 27 only from the communication terminal 10B.

  In addition, the communication method according to the present invention is a communication method in the communication terminal 10A including the IP communication unit 27 capable of simultaneously communicating with at least two communication terminals 10 (10A, 10B), and starts a session with the communication terminal 10B. Then, the first communication control step for controlling the IP communication unit 27 to transmit / receive data to / from the communication terminal 10B, and the instruction signal related to the communication destination of the data are acquired via the IP communication unit 27. In the instruction signal acquisition step, and in the instruction signal acquisition step, when an instruction signal instructing to change the communication terminal 10B from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C is obtained, a session with the communication terminal 10C is performed. The second communication control step for controlling the IP communication unit 27 to start the communication, and the communication terminal 10C is ready to transmit and receive data. When the reception preparation completion signal indicating completion is acquired from the communication terminal 10C via the IP communication unit 27, the IP communication unit is configured to change the communication terminal 10B from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C. The instruction signal acquisition step acquires the instruction signal from only the communication terminal 10 </ b> B via the IP communication unit 27.

  According to said structure, since the instruction | indication regarding the transmission destination of a data and a communication destination should just monitor the control signal from the communication terminal 10B, there exists an effect that a monitoring process can be simplified. Note that when the communication terminal 10C has a function of transmitting the instruction signal to the communication terminal 10B, the communication terminal 10C can also issue the instruction.

  10 A of communication terminals of this embodiment are communication terminals 10A provided with the IP communication part 27 which can communicate simultaneously with at least 2 communication terminal 10 (10A, 10B), Comprising: A session with the communication terminal 10B is started, and communication is carried out. A communication control unit 94 that controls the IP communication unit 27 to transmit and receive data to and from the terminal 10B, and a message reception unit 97 that acquires an instruction signal related to the communication destination of the data via the IP communication unit 27; When the message receiving unit 97 acquires an instruction signal instructing to change the communication terminal 10B from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C, the IP communication unit 27 starts a session with the communication terminal 10C. A communication preparation unit 94 for controlling the communication and a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the communication terminal 10C is ready to transmit and receive data. A switching processing unit 95 that controls the IP communication unit 27 so as to change the communication terminal 10B from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C when acquired from the terminal 10C via the IP communication unit 27; The communication control unit 94 maintains a session with the communication terminal 10B even when the switching processing unit 95 changes the partner that transmits and receives all of the data from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C.

  In addition, the communication method according to the present embodiment is a communication method in the communication terminal 10A including the IP communication unit 27 that can simultaneously communicate with at least two communication terminals 10 (10A, 10B), and starts a session with the communication terminal 10B. Then, the first communication control step for controlling the IP communication unit 27 to transmit / receive data to / from the communication terminal 10B, and the instruction signal related to the communication destination of the data are acquired via the IP communication unit 27. In the instruction signal acquisition step and in the instruction signal acquisition step, a session with the communication terminal 10C is started when an instruction signal instructing to change the communication terminal 10B from the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C is received. The second communication control step for controlling the IP communication unit 27 and the preparation for the communication terminal 10C to send and receive data are completed. Is received from the communication terminal 10C via the IP communication unit 27, the communication destination that controls the IP communication unit 27 to change the communication terminal 10B to the communication terminal 10C. In the first communication control step, the session with the communication terminal 10B is maintained even when the communication processing unit 10B changes the communication terminal 10C to the communication terminal 10C. is doing.

  According to the above configuration, since the first session is maintained even when the data transmission / reception partner is changed, it is possible to quickly perform when restoring the data transmission / reception partner from the communication terminal 10C to the communication terminal 10B. it can. At this time, the instruction signal for restoring the communication partner 10C from the communication terminal 10C to the communication terminal 10B may be acquired from the communication terminal 10B or may be acquired from the communication terminal 10C. It is also possible to continue to transmit and receive the communication terminal 10B and the data communication terminal.

  In the communication terminal 10A, of the first and communication terminals 10C, at least one of information on the processing capability of the data in the communication terminal 10C that is the transmission destination of the data and information on the communication status with the communication terminal 10C A message receiving unit 97 that acquires data via the IP communication unit 27, and an agent execution unit 92 that converts data to be transmitted to the transmission destination terminal so as to match the information acquired by the transmission destination information acquisition unit. It has more.

  According to the above configuration, the communication terminal 10A obtains at least one of the data processing capability information in the communication terminal 10C, which is the transmission destination terminal, and the communication status information with the transmission destination terminal. Data communication can be performed by grasping the destination communication terminal 10C, performing data conversion according to the data processing capability and communication status.

  By providing the communication terminal 10B and the communication terminal 10C described above and the communication terminal 10A capable of communicating simultaneously with the communication terminal 10C and the communication terminal 10C, a communication system capable of producing the same effects as described above is configured. .

  In the above description, the case where the agent program and the setting parameter are transmitted and received between the communication terminals as the agent has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. By incorporating the function of the agent described above into each communication terminal as a circuit, substantially the same effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

  However, if the configuration is such that the agent program and the setting parameters are transmitted as an agent as in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to provide each communication terminal with a configuration excluding the agent processing unit 90, and by transmitting the agent as necessary. Since the function can be executed, the effect is particularly great.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims. That is, embodiments obtained by combining technical means appropriately modified within the scope of the claims are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  Finally, each block of the communication terminal 10, in particular, the overall control unit 20, the IP communication unit 27, and the agent processing unit 90 may be configured by hardware logic, or realized by software using a CPU as follows. May be.

  That is, the communication terminal 10 includes a CPU (central processing unit) that executes instructions of a control program for realizing each function, a ROM (read only memory) that stores the program, a RAM (random access memory) that expands the program, A storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing the program and various data is provided. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium in which a program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of a control program of the communication terminal 10 which is software that realizes the above-described functions is recorded so as to be readable by a computer. This can also be achieved by supplying the communication terminal 10 and reading and executing the program code recorded on the recording medium by the computer (or CPU or MPU).

  Examples of the recording medium include tapes such as magnetic tapes and cassette tapes, magnetic disks such as floppy (registered trademark) disks / hard disks, and disks including optical disks such as CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. Card system such as IC card, IC card (including memory card) / optical card, or semiconductor memory system such as mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM.

  The communication terminal 10 may be configured to be connectable to a communication network, and the program code may be supplied via the communication network. The communication network is not particularly limited. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication. A net or the like is available. Also, the transmission medium constituting the communication network is not particularly limited. For example, even in the case of wired such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL line, etc., infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth ( (Registered trademark), 802.11 wireless, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network, and the like can also be used. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  According to the present invention, the communication terminal on the transmission side can start data communication after the communication terminal of the communication partner is ready for communication, so that the data communication is not interrupted when switching the communication terminal performing data communication. Therefore, it can be suitably used as a communication system using a communication device, a mobile phone, a videophone, a mobile terminal, a video distribution device, a video database, a music distribution system, and other one-way or two-way data communication. can do.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a communication system using a communication terminal 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a functional block diagram showing main parts of the communication terminal 10A and the communication terminal 10B in this embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a functional block showing main parts of the communication terminal 10C in this embodiment. FIG. It is a functional block diagram which shows the detailed function of the integrated control part 20 and the agent process part 90 in the said communication terminal. The sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process in the case of switching so that the data transmitted from 10 A of communication terminals to the communication terminal 10B may be transmitted from the communication terminal 10A to the communication terminal 10C based on the operation input from the communication terminal 10B. It is. It is a table | surface explaining various parameters used when switching the data communication between the communication terminals 10. FIG. It is a table | surface which shows the specific example of the capability information used when switching the data communication between the communication terminals 10. FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the data exchanged in the overall control unit 20 of each communication terminal 10 and the flow of processing during the switching process shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the data exchanged between the communication terminals 10 and the flow of processing during the switching process shown in FIG. 4. It is a flowchart which shows about the specific procedure of the switching control of the data communication which the agent process part 90 performs internally. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process in the case of switching so that the data transmitted from communication terminal 10A to communication terminal 10C may be transmitted with respect to communication terminal 10B from communication terminal 10A by operation of communication terminal 10B. The sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process in the case of switching so that the data transmitted from 10 A of communication terminals to the communication terminal 10B may be transmitted to the communication terminal 10C from 10 A of communication terminals based on the operation input from 10 C of communication terminals It is. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the data exchanged in the overall control unit 20 of each communication terminal and the flow of processing during the switching process shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing data and processing flow exchanged between agent processing units 90 of each communication terminal in the switching process shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing data and processing flow exchanged between agent processing units 90 of each communication terminal in the switching process shown in FIG. 10. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process in the case of switching so that the data transmitted from communication terminal 10A to communication terminal 10C may be transmitted to communication terminal 10B from communication terminal 10A by operation of communication terminal 10C.

Explanation of symbols

10 communication terminal 10A source communication terminal (communication device)
10B Communication terminal disconnected from data communication (first communication terminal)
10C Communication terminal for establishing new data communication (second communication terminal)
20 General Control Unit 21 Multimedia Processing Unit 22 Video Encoding Unit 23 Audio Encoding Unit 24 Video Decoding Unit 25 Audio Decoding Unit 26 Text Processing Unit 27 IP Communication Unit (Communication Unit)
28 Transmission processing unit 29 Reception processing unit 31 Agent generation unit 33 Agent registration unit 33 Message reception unit 34 Message transmission unit 70 Internet 72A to 72C Access network 81 Camera 82 Microphone 83 Display device 84 Speaker 85 Key input device 86 Infrared interface 87 Bluetooth Interface 88 Large screen display device 89 Operation panel 90 Agent processing unit 91 Agent storage unit 92 Agent execution unit (data conversion means)
93 shared information generating unit 94 communication control unit (first communication control unit, second communication control unit)
95 Switching processor (transmission destination changing means)
96 message transmitter 97 message receiver (instruction signal acquisition means, transmission destination information acquisition means)

Claims (10)

A communication device including a communication unit capable of simultaneously communicating with at least two communication terminals,
A first communication control means for starting a session with the first communication terminal and controlling the communication unit to transmit and receive data to and from the first communication terminal;
Instruction signal acquisition means for acquiring an instruction signal related to the transmission destination of the data via the communication unit;
When the instruction signal acquisition means acquires an instruction signal instructing to change the partner to which part or all of the data is transmitted from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal, the instruction signal acquisition means Second communication control means for controlling the communication unit to start a session;
When a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to receive data is acquired from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, a partner to which part or all of the data is transmitted is determined. A communication apparatus comprising: a destination change means for controlling the communication unit to change from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal. A communication device including a communication unit capable of simultaneously communicating with at least two communication terminals,
A first communication control means for starting a session with the first communication terminal and controlling the communication unit to transmit and receive data to and from the first communication terminal;
An instruction signal acquisition means for acquiring an instruction signal related to a communication destination of the data via the communication unit;
When the instruction signal acquisition means acquires an instruction signal instructing to change the partner that transmits and receives part or all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal, the instruction signal acquisition means Second communication control means for controlling the communication unit to start a session;
When a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to transmit and receive data is obtained from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, a partner to transmit or receive part or all of the data is determined. Communication destination changing means for controlling the communication unit to change from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal,
The instruction signal acquisition means acquires the instruction signal from only the first communication terminal via the communication unit. A communication device including a communication unit capable of simultaneously communicating with at least two communication terminals,
A first communication control means for starting a session with the first communication terminal and controlling the communication unit to transmit and receive data to and from the first communication terminal;
An instruction signal acquisition means for acquiring an instruction signal related to a communication destination of the data via the communication unit;
When the instruction signal acquisition means acquires an instruction signal instructing to change the partner for transmitting and receiving all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal, a session with the second communication terminal is started. Second communication control means for controlling the communication unit to
When a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to transmit and receive data is acquired from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, the other party that transmits and receives all of the data is determined as the first communication terminal. Communication destination changing means for controlling the communication unit to change from the communication terminal to the second communication terminal,
The first communication control means maintains a session with the first communication terminal even when the other party that transmits and receives all of the data is changed from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal by the communication destination changing means. A communication device characterized by: Of the first and second communication terminals, at least one of information on the processing capability of the data at a destination terminal that is a communication terminal that is a destination of the data and information on a communication status with the destination terminal Transmission destination information acquisition means for acquiring via the communication unit,
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a data conversion unit that converts data to be transmitted to the transmission destination terminal so as to conform to the information acquired by the transmission destination information acquisition unit. . First and second communication terminals;
The communication system provided with the communication apparatus of any one of Claim 1 to 4 which can communicate simultaneously with the said 1st and 2nd communication terminal. A communication method in a communication device including a communication unit capable of simultaneously communicating with at least two communication terminals,
A first communication control step of starting a session with the first communication terminal and controlling the communication unit to transmit and receive data to and from the first communication terminal;
An instruction signal acquisition step for acquiring an instruction signal related to the transmission destination of the data via the communication unit;
In the instruction signal acquisition step, when an instruction signal instructing to change the partner to transmit a part or all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal is acquired, A second communication control step for controlling the communication unit to start a session;
When a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to receive data is acquired from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, a partner to which part or all of the data is transmitted is determined. And a transmission destination changing step of controlling the communication unit to change from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal. A communication method in a communication device including a communication unit capable of simultaneously communicating with at least two communication terminals,
A first communication control step of starting a session with the first communication terminal and controlling the communication unit to transmit and receive data to and from the first communication terminal;
An instruction signal acquisition step for acquiring an instruction signal related to a communication destination of the data via the communication unit;
In the instruction signal acquisition step, when an instruction signal instructing to change the partner to transmit / receive part or all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal is acquired, A second communication control step for controlling the communication unit to start a session;
When a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to transmit and receive data is obtained from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, a partner to transmit or receive part or all of the data is determined. A communication destination changing step for controlling the communication unit to change from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal,
In the instruction signal acquisition step, the instruction signal is acquired from only the first communication terminal via the communication unit. A communication method in a communication device including a communication unit capable of simultaneously communicating with at least two communication terminals,
A first communication control step of starting a session with the first communication terminal and controlling the communication unit to transmit and receive data to and from the first communication terminal;
An instruction signal acquisition step for acquiring an instruction signal related to a communication destination of the data via the communication unit;
In the instruction signal acquisition step, when an instruction signal instructing to change the partner for transmitting and receiving all of the data from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal is acquired, a session with the second communication terminal is started. A second communication control step for controlling the communication unit to
When a reception preparation completion signal indicating that the second communication terminal is ready to transmit and receive data is acquired from the second communication terminal via the communication unit, the other party that transmits and receives all of the data is determined as the first communication terminal. A communication destination changing step for controlling the communication unit to change from the communication terminal to the second communication terminal,
In the first communication control step, the session with the first communication terminal is maintained even if the other party that transmits and receives all of the data is changed from the first communication terminal to the second communication terminal in the communication destination changing step. A communication method characterized by:   The program for operating the communication apparatus of any one of Claim 1 to 4, Comprising: The program for functioning a computer as said each means.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 9 is recorded.

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