JP5470407B2 - Communication control device and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication control apparatus, method, and program.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there is a technology for transferring content and displaying content at the same time as performing general voice or videophone calls at a network terminal connected to a network. This technology establishes a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) session between a transmission terminal and a reception terminal based on information acquired by call connection using SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). Then, after confirming whether or not the receiving terminal has the ability to receive the type of content in the TCP session, the transmitting terminal can transmit the content to the receiving terminal (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .

JP 2011-40936 A

  However, if audio content is transferred during a voice conversation over a network or a video conversation (a conversation between audio and video images) and the content is played back during the conversation, the conversation If the content volume is larger than the volume, there is a problem that it is difficult to continue the conversation. In addition, when there is a sound output device around the user, there is a problem that it is difficult to continue the conversation without controlling the volume of the sound output device.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication control apparatus, method, and program capable of supporting comfortable calls.

  In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention includes a first establishing unit that establishes a call connection in response to an outgoing call from a transmitting terminal and enables communication with the transmitting terminal, and includes sound from the transmitting terminal In response to the content transmission request from the transmission terminal, a response indicating whether the content can be received is transmitted to the transmission terminal in response to the second establishment unit that establishes a session for receiving the content. And when the received content is played back during a call when the content can be received, and when the received content is played back during a call, the playback volume of the content is And an adjusting unit for reducing the size.

  That is, according to the present invention, comfortable calls can be supported.

1 is a block diagram showing a network communication system according to a first embodiment. The block diagram which shows the communication control apparatus contained in a transmission terminal. The block diagram which shows the communication control apparatus contained in a receiving terminal. The sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the network communication system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the network communication system which concerns on the modification of 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the network communication system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the network communication system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, a communication control device, method, and program according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that, in the following embodiments, the same numbered portions are assumed to perform the same operation, and repeated description is omitted.
A network communication system including a communication control apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The network communication system 100 includes a transmission terminal 110, a reception terminal 120, and a network 150. Here, as the network communication system 100, in the present embodiment, for example, a call is made between the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal by an IP (Internet Protocol) telephone, and content including sound (music content or video content including sound, etc.) ) Is transmitted from the transmitting terminal to the receiving terminal. The “call” in the present embodiment includes not only a voice-only conversation but also a conversation between video and voice by so-called video chat (videophone).
The transmission terminal 110 includes a communication control device 111, a voice input / output unit 112, and an operation unit 113. The receiving terminal 120 includes a communication control device 121, a voice input / output unit 122 and an operation unit 123. The transmission terminal 110 is connected to the display unit 114, and the reception terminal 120 is connected to the display unit 124.

The communication control device 111 transmits a call to the receiving terminal 120 and transmits the content after the call connection is established. Details of the communication control device 111 will be described later with reference to FIG.
The communication control apparatus 121 receives a call connection request from the transmission terminal 110 and establishes the call connection. Thereafter, the content is received from the transmission terminal 110. Details of the communication control device 121 will be described later with reference to FIG.

The voice input / output units 112 and 122 are, for example, a microphone and a speaker, and output DT (Dial Tone) sound, RBT (Ring Back Tone) sound, sound included in content, voice during a call, and the like from the speaker. Also, voice input during a call is accepted by the microphone.
The operation units 113 and 123 are, for example, a remote controller, a mouse, and a keyboard, and receive input from the user.
The display units 114 and 124 are, for example, general displays, and display content videos. In addition, when the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal are having a conversation by videophone, images of each other are displayed. The display units 114 and 124 may be integrated with the transmission terminal 110 and the reception terminal 120, respectively, or may be separated from the terminal and connected by wire or wirelessly.
Note that the communication control devices 111 and 121 may have functions other than calls such as a web browser and a photo viewer.

Next, details of the communication control device 111 included in the transmission terminal 110 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The communication control apparatus 111 according to the present embodiment includes a SIP establishment unit 201, a TCP establishment unit 202, a storage unit 203, a capability confirmation unit 204, and a transmission unit 205.

The SIP establishing unit 201 establishes a call connection with the receiving terminal 120 using SIP based on an ID (for example, a telephone number) that identifies the receiving terminal 120, and receives terminal information from the receiving terminal 120. The terminal information is information for specifying a terminal such as an IP address and a port number. In addition, the SIP establishment unit 201 disconnects the established call connection with the receiving terminal 102 when the call ends.
The TCP establishment unit 202 receives terminal information from the SIP establishment unit 201 and establishes a TCP media session. A media session is a virtual transmission path for exchanging data between applications. The communication control device 111 performs content transmission processing within the established media session.
The storage unit 203 receives and stores content and detailed information of the content from the external content storage medium 250. The detailed information is information including the content type and the content size. Note that the storage unit 203 may be a memory, and may receive streaming data of content from the outside and buffer the streaming data.

The capability confirmation unit 204 extracts detailed content information from the storage unit 203 and transmits the detailed information to the reception terminal 120 to confirm whether the content can be received by the reception terminal 120. When the receiving terminal 120 confirms that the content can be received, the capability confirmation unit 204 generates a transmission instruction indicating that the content is to be transmitted.
When receiving a transmission instruction from the capability confirmation unit 204, the transmission unit 205 extracts content from the storage unit 203. Thereafter, the transmission unit 205 transmits the content to the reception terminal 102.

Next, the communication control apparatus 121 included in the receiving terminal 120 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The communication control apparatus 121 according to this embodiment includes a SIP establishment unit 301, a TCP establishment unit 302, a capability response unit 303, a reception unit 304, a storage unit 305, a content reproduction unit 306, and a volume adjustment unit 307.

The SIP establishment unit 301 receives a call connection request from the transmission terminal 110 and establishes a call connection using SIP in response to the call connection request.
The TCP establishment unit 302 receives a media session establishment request from the transmission terminal 110 and establishes a TCP media session in response to the media session establishment request.
The capability response unit 303 receives detailed information from the capability confirmation unit 204 of the transmission terminal 110, determines whether the reception terminal 120 can receive the content, and transmits the determination result to the transmission terminal.

The receiving unit 304 receives content transmitted from the transmission terminal 110.
The storage unit 305 receives the content from the reception unit 304 and stores it.
The content reproduction unit 306 extracts the content from the storage unit 305 and reproduces the extracted content. Note that the content may be reproduced automatically or manually by the user.
When the content is reproduced, the volume adjustment unit 307 makes the content reproduction volume smaller than the call volume when the content reproduction volume is equal to or higher than the call volume.

Next, the operation of the network communication system including the communication control devices 111 and 121 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. Here, it is assumed that the content to be transmitted to the receiving terminal 120 is selected by the user in advance at the transmitting terminal 110.
In step S <b> 401, the SIP establishment unit 201 of the transmission terminal 110 sends a call connection request by SIP to the reception terminal 120 based on an ID (here, a telephone number) that identifies the reception terminal 120. In response to the call connection request, the SIP establishment unit 301 of the receiving terminal 120 establishes the call connection. As a result, a call is possible between the transmission terminal 110 and the reception terminal 120.
In step S402, the TCP establishment unit 202 of the transmission terminal 110 requests the start of a TCP media session based on the IP address and port number acquired by the SIP call connection. The TCP establishing unit 302 of the receiving terminal 120 establishes a media session between the transmitting terminal 110 and the receiving terminal 120 in response to a request for starting a media session.
In step S403, the capability confirmation unit 204 of the transmission terminal 110 confirms whether or not the reception terminal 120 can receive the content type selected by the transmission terminal 110 in the established TCP media session. Specifically, for example, the transmission terminal 110 transmits a content type request for requesting a content type receivable by the reception terminal 120 to the reception terminal 120. Thereafter, after the transmitting terminal 110 receives a response to the content type request from the receiving terminal 120, the receiving terminal 120 refers to the type of content included in the response and if the same type as the content to be transmitted exists, the receiving terminal 120 What is necessary is just to determine that it can receive.
In another example, the transmission terminal 110 transmits a content type to the reception terminal 120, and then, when the reception terminal 120 can receive the same type of content, a response indicating that the content can be received by the transmission terminal 110, The capability confirmation unit 204 may determine that the receiving terminal 120 can receive the content.

In step S404, the transmission unit 205 of the transmission terminal 110 transmits the detailed information of the content to be transmitted to the reception terminal 120 and receives a response indicating that the preparation for reception of the content is completed from the reception terminal 120. Is transmitted to the receiving terminal 120.
In step S405, the volume adjustment unit 307 of the receiving terminal 120 sets the content playback volume to be lower than the call volume when the content playback volume is equal to or higher than the call volume. As a specific adjustment method of the volume adjustment unit 307, for example, when the call volume and the content reproduction volume are defined at the same volume level, specifically, the audio input / output unit 122 has 10 levels. Assume that it is defined. In this case, if the call volume is “9”, the content playback volume (media playback volume) should be set to “8” or less, preferably “4” or less, which is preferably half or less of the call volume, before the content is played. That's fine.
If a volume tag indicating the volume of the content is attached to the detailed information of the content, the volume may be adjusted with reference to the volume tag so that the playback volume of the content is smaller than the call volume. Thus, even when the user continues the call while reproducing the content, the playback volume of the content does not hinder the call, and the user can make a call comfortably.

Furthermore, once the content is played, a volume level comparison unit (not shown) compares the loudness level between the playback volume and the call volume, and if the loudness level of the playback volume is equal to or greater than the loudness level of the call volume, the volume adjustment unit 307 may adjust the playback volume to be lower than the call volume. In this case, although there is a time lag, the communication control apparatus 121 according to the present embodiment can make the playback volume of any content smaller than the call volume regardless of the sound collection level of the content. In addition, regardless of the method described above, when content is reproduced, the content reproduction volume may be zero, that is, mute in order to give priority to the call completely.
In step S406, the content reproduction unit 306 reproduces the content.
In step S407, the SIP establishment unit 201 of the transmission terminal 110 disconnects the call connection. This completes the operation of the network conversation system including the communication control device.

  According to the first embodiment described above, when the call is continued while viewing the content by adjusting the volume so that the content playback volume is lower than the call volume, the content playback volume is set to the call level. Since there is no need for the user to manually adjust the volume without any hindrance, it is possible to support comfortable calls.

(Modification of the first embodiment)
In the first embodiment described above, it is assumed that the content reproduction sound and the call voice are output from the same output unit. However, in this modification, the content reproduction sound output unit and the call voice are output. The difference from the first embodiment is that the output unit is separate.

FIG. 5 shows a network communication system according to a modification of the first embodiment.
The network communication system 500 includes a transmission terminal 110, a reception terminal 120, display units 114 and 124, content audio output units 501 and 502, and a network 150.
Since the transmission terminal 110, the reception terminal 120, the display units 114 and 124, and the network 150 perform substantially the same operations as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted here.

The content audio output units 501 and 502 are, for example, speakers connected to the communication control device 111 and the communication control device 121, respectively, and output content reproduction sounds. The display unit and the content audio output unit may be a television display and a speaker. That is, the content may be transferred from the transmission terminal 110 or the reception terminal 120 to the television, and the content may be reproduced on the television.
The volume adjustment unit 307 of the receiving terminal 102 performs substantially the same operation as that of the first embodiment, except that the volume of the content audio output unit 502 is adjusted instead of the content volume of the audio input / output unit 122.

Note that a monitoring unit (not shown) is provided in the receiving terminal 120 to monitor the playback volume of the content from the content audio output unit 502, and the volume level comparison unit compares the playback volume of the content with the call volume. Good. In this way, the volume adjusting unit 307 can adjust the volume of the content audio output unit 502 to a volume level such as “can hear the playback sound of the content without disturbing the call”.
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an example of volume adjustment on the receiving terminal 120 side is shown, but the same processing may be performed on the transmitting terminal 110 side. The volume adjustment can be realized by including a volume adjustment unit (not shown) in the communication control device 111 of the transmission terminal 110 as with the reception terminal 120. For example, when a call is made while content is being played back, after the call connection with the receiving terminal 120 is established, the volume adjustment unit may make the playback volume of the content smaller than the call volume.

  According to the modified example of the first embodiment described above, even when the call voice, the output unit, and the output unit of the reproduced sound of the content are different, the processing of the content is performed by performing the same process as in the first embodiment. A comfortable call can be supported without the playback volume hindering the call.

(Second Embodiment)
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that an audio output device that outputs sound, such as a radio or a stereo component, is connected to at least a receiving terminal via a local network.
A network communication system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The network communication system 600 according to the second embodiment includes a transmission terminal 110, a reception terminal 120, display units 114 and 124, content audio output units 501 and 502, audio output devices 601 and 602, local networks 603 and 604, and a network. 150.
Since the transmission terminal 110, the reception terminal 120, the display units 114 and 124, the content audio output units 501 and 502, and the network 150 perform substantially the same operations as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted here.

The audio output devices 601 and 602 are sound sources that are connected to the transmission terminal 110 and the reception terminal 120, respectively, and are different from the reproduced sound of the content of this embodiment. Examples of the sound source include a radio, a stereo component, and a home theater. In the second embodiment, each of the audio output devices 601 and 602 is connected to the transmitting terminal 110 and the receiving terminal 120 one by one. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of audio output devices may be connected. Good.
The local networks 603 and 604 connect the audio output device 601 and the transmission terminal 110 and connect the audio output device 602 and the reception terminal 120 by wire or wireless.
The volume adjustment unit 307 of the receiving terminal 120 receives volume information indicating the volume currently output by each audio output device 602 from the audio output device 602 via the local network 604 in advance. The volume adjustment unit 307 adjusts the content playback volume and the output volume of the audio output device 602 so as to be smaller than the call volume based on the volume information.

Next, a sequence diagram showing the operation of the network communication system 600 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. It is assumed that the audio output device 602 outputs sound in advance.
In step S <b> 701, the receiving terminal 120 receives volume information from the audio output device 602 via the local network 604. Specifically, for example, the receiving terminal 120 may send a request signal for requesting volume information to the audio output device 602, and the audio output device 602 may transmit the volume information to the receiving terminal 120 in response to the request signal.
In step S <b> 702, an ID (telephone number, IP address, etc.) specifying the receiving terminal 120 is input to the SIP establishing unit 201 by the operation unit 113 of the transmission terminal 110.
In step S703, the SIP establishment unit 201 of the transmission terminal 110 makes a call to the reception terminal 120 by an off-hook operation or the like.
In step S <b> 704, the SIP establishment unit 301 of the receiving terminal 120 establishes a call connection by responding to the transmission from the transmission terminal 110 and sets the call state.

In step S705, the volume adjustment unit 307 of the receiving terminal transmits a volume control signal indicating that the output volume of the audio output device 602 is smaller than the call volume based on the volume information to the audio output device 602.
In step S706, after receiving the volume control signal, the audio output device 602 controls to decrease the volume based on the volume control signal. The operation of the network conversation system according to the second embodiment is thus completed.
Note that the transmission of the volume information shown in step S701 may be performed at the same timing as the incoming call in step S704. In this way, volume information can be received only when there is a call from the transmission terminal 110, transmission / reception of unnecessary signals within the local network 604 is reduced, and the audio output device 602 can be efficiently used. Can be controlled.

Furthermore, the volume control of the audio output device 601 around the transmission terminal 110 can be performed in the same manner as the above-described volume control.
According to the second embodiment described above, when the audio output device is connected to the receiving terminal via the network, the output volume of the audio output device is smaller than the call volume based on the volume information. By controlling in this way, a comfortable call can be supported at the transmission terminal and the reception terminal.

The instructions shown in the processing procedure shown in the above-described embodiment can be executed based on a program that is software. A general-purpose computer system stores this program in advance and reads this program, so that it is possible to obtain the same effect as that obtained by the communication control apparatus described above. The instructions described in the above-described embodiments are, as programs that can be executed by a computer, magnetic disks (flexible disks, hard disks, etc.), optical disks (CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD). ± R, DVD ± RW, Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc, etc.), semiconductor memory, or a similar recording medium. As long as the recording medium is readable by the computer or the embedded system, the storage format may be any form. If the computer reads the program from the recording medium and causes the CPU to execute instructions described in the program based on the program, the same operation as that of the communication control apparatus of the above-described embodiment can be realized. Of course, when the computer acquires or reads the program, it may be acquired or read through a network.
In addition, the OS (operating system), database management software, MW (middleware) such as a network, etc. running on the computer based on the instructions of the program installed in the computer or embedded system from the recording medium implement this embodiment. A part of each process for performing may be executed.
Furthermore, the recording medium in the present embodiment is not limited to a medium independent of a computer or an embedded system, but also includes a recording medium in which a program transmitted via a LAN, the Internet, or the like is downloaded and stored or temporarily stored.
Further, the number of recording media is not limited to one, and when the processing in this embodiment is executed from a plurality of media, it is included in the recording medium in this embodiment, and the configuration of the media may be any configuration.
The computer or the embedded system in the present embodiment is for executing each process in the present embodiment based on a program stored in a recording medium. The computer or the embedded system includes a single device such as a personal computer or a microcomputer. The system may be any configuration such as a system connected to the network.
In addition, the computer in this embodiment is not limited to a personal computer, but includes an arithmetic processing device, a microcomputer, and the like included in an information processing device, and is a generic term for devices and devices that can realize the functions in this embodiment by a program. ing.

  In short, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Further, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine suitably the component covering different embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100,500,600 ... Network communication system, 102 ... Reception terminal, 110 ... Transmission terminal, 111, 121 ... Communication control apparatus, 112, 122 ... Voice input / output part, 113, 123 ... operation unit 114, 124 ... display unit, 120 ... receiving terminal, 150 ... network, 201, 301 ... SIP establishment unit, 202, 302 ... TCP establishment unit, 203, 305... Storage unit 204 204 capability confirmation unit 250 content storage medium 303 capability response unit 304 reception unit 305 storage unit 306 content Reproduction unit, 307... Volume adjustment unit, 501, 502... Content audio output unit, 601, 602... Audio output device, 603, 604.

Claims (2)

A first establishing unit that establishes a call connection in response to an outgoing call from the transmitting terminal and enables a call with the transmitting terminal;
A second establishment unit for establishing a session for receiving content including sound from the transmission terminal;
A response unit that transmits to the transmission terminal a response indicating whether the content can be received in response to the content transmission request from the transmission terminal;
A receiving unit that receives the content when the content can be received;
An adjustment unit that reduces the playback volume of the content when the received content is played during a call;
When the receiving unit is connected to one or more sound output devices that output sound, the receiving unit further receives volume information indicating an output volume of the sound output device;
The adjustment unit is configured to reduce the output volume to a volume lower than the call volume based on the volume information when the call connection is established.   A program for causing a computer to be executed as each unit of the communication control device according to claim 1.

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