KR20070081911A - Method of a realtime remote education using tightly coupled multi-conference and the system thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and a system for providing a real-time remote lecture using a tightly coupled multi-conference are provided to enable each participant to receive a new real-time remote lecture service by using a data packet network and offer a data service by forming a session with the participants at once through a mass invitation mode. A conference policy server(126) prepares an SMS(Short Message Service) for notifing the participants(150,152) of starting the remote lecture if the multi-conference is formed. A mixer(134) notifies the participants of starting the remote lecture through the SMS and multicasts the data for the remote lecture to the participants in response to a data multicast request for the remote lecture. A focus processor(122) invites the participants responding to notification in the mass invitation mode, forms the session between the participants and the conference server if response to the invitation is received from the participants, and requests the mixer to multicast the data for the remote lecture. A floor chair(140) manages a speaking right and releases a floor(142) to enable one participant to speak by obtaining the floor.

Description

Real-time remote lecture method and system using close-coupled multi-conference MULTI-CONFERENCE AND THE SYSTEM THEREOF} METHODS OF A REALTIME REMOTE EDUCATION USING TIGHTLY COUPLED

1 is a view showing the structure of a tightly coupled multi-conference system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

2 is a message flow diagram of a participant and a conference for a real-time remote lecture service according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the processing of each entity participating in a lecture with a usage protocol for a proposed real-time remote lecture service procedure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a tightly coupled multi-conference, and more particularly, to a real-time remote lecture method and system using tightly coupled multi-conference.

In a situation where the number of Internet terminal subscribers is increasing, standardization is actively progressed with the goal of opening the service to satisfy the demand for various services. The basic idea of service opening is the same, but the Internet Engineering Task Forcing (IETF) standardizes working groups (WGs) to provide Internet Protocol (IP) services based on Session Initialization Protocol (SIP). Multimedia conference topologies required to provide representative conference services include central control and mixing, centralized signal management and media server, and central control and pole mesh mixing. and Full-Mesh Mixing and Cascaded Conferences.

Multimedia conference topologies are further subdivided into tightly coupled and loosely coupled bases. As services are shifted to operators, multimedia conferences are being established as a close coupling based service that can be easily authenticated, charged and controlled using central management and full mesh mixing methods, compared to a loosely coupled foundation. Most manufacturers and service providers choose SIP as the service profile protocol for providing a variety of services, including multi-media conferences, from H.232-based conference control technology.

Among the standardization related to multimedia conferences, standardization related to conference policy, media policy, and floor control is separated by a working group called IETF XCON. IETF XCON (Tightly Coupled Multi-Conference) consists of several entities to support multi-party communication and services, SIP for session establishment and maintenance, and Real Time Protocol for multimedia transmission and reception. Is a protocol suite that provides a commercially available and standardized way to take a centralized form for user authentication and billing. In addition, the CPCP (Conference Policy Control Protocol) is used to access the conference policy server to control the transfer of information related to conference policy, such as setting, changing, creating, and deleting conference policies. These tightly coupled multi-conferences require conference control mechanisms such as conference management, user management, voice control, and conference merge / separation, which provide participants with services.

As such, a multimedia conference for a specific purpose may allow participants to provide various data services as well as voice calls. For these services, IETF proposes and standardizes XCON for easy billing including strong security and user authentication.

As described above, the requirements and framework for the XCON are established only for each company and service provider, and the operation of the specific protocol proposed by the standardization organization is not established. There is also a need to clarify the interface between the policy server, media server, caller and conference server for multimedia conferences.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a real-time remote lecture method and system using a close-coupled multi-conference to allow a number of participants to receive a remote lecture service.

In order to achieve the above, the present invention provides a method for real-time remote lecture using a close-coupled multi-conference, in which a conference server notifies a plurality of participants that the remote lecture is started by a short message service method, and Inviting participants who responded by mass invitation method; Forming a conference session between the participants and the conference through the mass invitation method; When the session is formed, the conference server informs the participants. And multicasting data for remote lectures.

The present invention also provides a real-time remote lecture system using a tightly coupled multi-conference, comprising a plurality of participants, a conference server forming a multi-conference with the plurality of participants, the conference server, the multi- A conference policy server that prepares a short message service for notifying the plurality of participants that the remote lecture is started when a conference is formed, and notifies the plurality of participants that the remote lecture is started with the short message service, A mixer that multicasts the data for the remote lecture to the participants in response to the data multicast request for the remote lecture, and invites the participants who responded to the announcement in a mass invitation manner, from the participants Receive a response to the invitation and the conference with the participants Forming a session between the server and the switch, it characterized in that as the mixer is configured to include a focus processor requesting the multicast data for the remote lesson.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the operating principle of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, detailed descriptions of well-known functions or configurations will be omitted if it is determined that the detailed description of the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention.

The present invention implements a function of enabling a variety of participants to be provided with a remote lecture service using a tightly coupled multi-conference. To this end, the present invention is to query the user who purchased the content of the remote lecture before the start of the remote lecture using the short message service (SMS) whether the participation of the remote lecture service, the user who showed the will to participate Session is established using SIP. The lecture service will then be enabled according to the XCON framework, a tightly coupled multi-conference. By doing so, it is possible to provide services that allow participants to participate in real-time remote lectures while maintaining sessions and policies between participants on a tightly coupled multi-conference.

Hereinafter, a procedure for providing a real-time remote lecture service in a tightly coupled multi-conference will be described.

1 is a view showing the structure of a tightly coupled multi-conference system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the tightly coupled multi-conference system is composed of a conference server 120, a floor chair 140, and participants 150, 152, and the conference server 120 again includes a focus processor (Focus) 122. , A conference notification server 124, a conference policy server 126, a conference policy (membership policy, media policy) 128, and a mixer 134.

The focus processor 122 is responsible for central control in the IETF XCON tightly coupled multi-conference. It manages SIP sessions for all participants 150,152 at the conference and has access to conference policy 128. In an embodiment of the present invention, the focus processor 122 is responsible for session establishment using a mass invitation of SIP.

Conference notification server 124 provides a NOTIFY service in the SIP protocol. That is, a message about the conference information is notified to the participants 150 and 152.

Conference Policy Server 126 manages and processes conference policy 128.

Conference policy 128 is a type of storage that stores an aggregate set of all rules governing the work of the conference, and is classified into membership policy 130 and media policy 132. Membership policy 130 is responsible for the policy for participants 150, 152 of conference policy 128. In the present invention, since the service is provided only to participants who purchase education content and express their intention to participate, the membership policy 130 plays a role in processing information on the education content buyer. Based on this, the future mixer 134 transmits an SMS message.

Media policy 132 is responsible for the policy for media of conference policy 128.

The mixer 134 receives the same kind of media streams and reprocesses them, and distributes them to participants 150 and 152 using multicasting. There are four types of data that the mixer 134 can process: video, audio, text, and applications.

Participants 150 and 152 refer to users or automata who participate in the conference. Participants 150 and 152 are normal participants who can receive a conference service while establishing a session with the focus processor 122 according to the membership policy 130, and participants who only form a session with the focus processor 122 and receive no service. And, among the normal participants are classified into four categories: an anonymous user who announces their attendance but hides their identity, and a hidden user whose attendance and identity are not known. In the present invention, only participants who purchase the actual educational content and express their intention to participate in the real-time remote lecture are called participants.

The floor 142 refers to a floor for temporarily accessing a specific shared resource. In other words, it means the right to temporarily access and use resources that allow participants 150,152 to speak in a tightly coupled multi-conference. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the floor chair 140 may be used when conducting a lecture, and the participants 150 and 152 may obtain and use the query when they want to inquire.

The floor chair 140 refers to a participant who manages the right to speak. In the present invention, the floor chair 140 has a meaning of an instructor or an agent on behalf of the instructor.

All of the above entities are logical units, and in actual implementation, the entities may form a server group in the form of an independent server, or may be configured by mounting each module of a single server. The protocols used for the remote lecture service procedure between the entities are as follows.

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) 101 is a signaling protocol for creating, modifying and terminating a multimedia service session. As a protocol of the application layer, both TCP and UDP can be used and take a request / response structure. The SIP 101 exchanges information on a media type to be exchanged in a SIP session by using a Session Description Protocol (SDP).

Real Time Protocol (RTP) 103 is an Internet protocol for transmitting real-time data, such as audio and video, generally executed over a UDP protocol.

The Conference Policy Control Protocol (CPCP) 107, 113 is a protocol used to allow participants 150, 152 to access and process the conference policy 128.

The floor control protocol (FCP) 105 is a protocol for controlling the voice and allows the resource to be used even when mutually exclusive and non-exclusively with respect to the shared resources of the conference server 120.

The media protocol 115 is a protocol used between the focus processor 122 and the mixer 134 and is a protocol used for exchanging information about media.

Here, when the remote lecture service procedure proposed by the present invention is introduced, the tightly coupled multi-conference works as follows.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the participants 150 and 152 and the floor chain 140 create sessions with the focus processor 122 using the SIP 101 and participate in the conference. Conference information is received from the conference notification server 124.

The floor chair 140 requests the conference policy server 126 for a real-time remote lecture using the CPCP 107, and the conference policy server 126 determines whether the requested remote lecture conforms to the conference policy 128. do. If the requested remote lecture conforms to the conference policy 128, the membership policy 130 and the media policy 132 may be modified as needed. However, in the present invention, since the participant is limited, the membership policy 130 is only responsible for filtering the SMS message to be sent only to the participant who purchased the educational content. In addition, the media policy 132 is also limited to the purpose of the conference, thereby defining the characteristics of the media to be used in the remote lecture.

The focus processor 122 transmits the requirements required by the policies 130 and 132 using CPCP. Thereafter, information is provided to the focus processor 122 and a remote lecture service is provided to the participants 150 and 152 to form a session using a mass invitation using SIP. The mixer 134 transmits and receives real-time remote lecture information based on the media policy information received from the focus processor 122 through CPCP.

On the other hand, the floor chair 140 speaks at the current conference using the FCP 105. The speech information is passed to the mixer 134 using the RTP 103, which distributes the stream to other participants 152, 140 using multicasting. In the present invention, except for the floor chair 140, acquiring a voice and making a speech mean a question and answer of the participants 150 and 152.

Participants 150 and 152 create a session using SIP 101 to participate in the conference, and receive conference information from SIP using conference 101 from the conference announcement server 124. At this time, the participants 150 and 152 transmit and receive the conference data stream using the RTP 103. As such, the process of using the SIP 101 and the RTP 103 means a normal conference participation process.

For the real-time remote lecture proposed in the present invention, the following operation must be performed in the terminal.

First, the user must purchase the corresponding training content in order to participate in the real-time distance lecture. This educational content is protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM). That is, the educational content purchased by the user includes the authority information for executing the content, the contents of the authority information including a reproduction right for executing the encrypted education content and a limited number of reproductions. Accordingly, when the user uses all of the limited number of plays, the training content is destroyed.

On the other hand, a user who purchases education content needs to know when the lecture starts in order to receive the remote lecture service in real time. To this end, in the present invention, the conference server 120 announces that the real-time remote lecture is started in the form of SMS to the user who purchased the training content. The delivery of the SMS message allows the user to know when the lecture begins. In addition, the present invention allows a user who receives an SMS message to directly determine whether to participate in a real-time remote lecture. Accordingly, real-time remote lecture service is provided only to users who have indicated their intention to participate in the lecture. Otherwise, if the user refuses to participate, the service is immediately terminated.

Meanwhile, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a message flow diagram of a participant and a conference for a real-time remote lecture service according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Although only one participant 150 is shown here, in practice the same procedure may be performed between the conference server 120 and a plurality of participants including the floor chair 140. Here, the participant means a student participating in the real-time remote service.

Referring to FIG. 2, before the real-time tele-lecture procedure is started, the conference server 120 transmits an SMS message indicating the start of the real-time tele-lecture service to the users who purchased the training content, and then again. Only users who have communicated their intention through SMS messages, that is, participants, will provide real-time remote lecture service.

Accordingly, in step 203, the conference server 120 invites the participants 150 in a mass invitation method, which is a SIP signal, to provide a real-time remote lecture service. In step 203, attempts are made to form a session using a mass invitation method to prepare a foundation for providing a real-time remote lecture service.

Meanwhile, in step 205, the participant 150 accepts the mass invitation of the conference server 120 using the signal of the SIP, and informs that the real-time remote lecture service is ready. Through this process, a session between the conference server 120 and the participant 150 is formed.

Subsequently, the conference server 120 actually multicasts the remote lecture media and information to the participant 150 in step 207. Accordingly, the participant 150 is provided with the lecture by using the remote lecture media received through the RTP.

In step 209, the participant 150 may obtain a floor and transmit the query content to the conference server 120 in unicast using the RTP while receiving the lecture. Thereafter, the conference server 120 may transmit the query contents to the plurality of participants in multicast.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the processing of each entity participating in the lecture along with the usage protocol for the proposed real-time remote lecture service procedure according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Although only one participant 150 is shown in FIG. 3, the same procedure is actually performed between the plurality of participants and the conference server 120.

Referring to FIG. 3, steps 401 to 411 are preparation steps for a real-time remote lecture, and the floor chair 140 and the conference policy server 126, focus before the floor chair 140 announces the start of the lecture. (122), a session is established with the mixer (134).

First, in step 401, the floor chair 140 requests the remote lecture service using the conference server 120, that is, the conference policy server 126, the focus 122, the mixer 134, and the SIP and RTP for the real time remote lecture. do. That is, step 401 represents forming a multi conference. If the remote lecture service request is legitimate and in accordance with the conference policy 128 in this process, the conference policy server 126 may send an SMS message to the participants 150 in accordance with the membership policy 130 in step 403. The focus processor 122 is requested. Membership policy processing in the present invention means preparation for sending an SMS message to the participants 150 who purchased the educational content. Subsequently, if the remote lecture service request is legitimate and in accordance with the conference policy 128 in step 405, the conference policy server 126 focuses the media processing to be used in the conference for the remote lecture based on the media policy 132. Ask 122. In other words, the media policy processing process refers to the process of defining the media to be used in the conference.

In step 407, the conference policy server 126 combines the membership policy in step 403 and the media policy in step 405 and delivers the conference remote lecture policy to the focus processor 122 through CPCP. The focus processor 122 then executes the important tasks related to the remote lecture based on the received policy. In operation 409, the focus processor 122 grants the media policy to the mixer 134 in charge of media transmission. In other words, the focus processor 122 transmits a media processing request received according to the media policy 132 to the mixer 134 in step 409 to instruct preparation for remote lecture media. At this time, the communication between the focus processor 122 and the mixer 134 uses a media protocol.

In operation 411, the focus processor 122 has information about the participants 150 processed according to the membership policy 130 and informs the participants 150 via SMS messages of information indicating the start of the remote lecture service. The learner notification request is forwarded to the mixer 134 for transmission.

Hereinafter, steps 413 to 415 announce the start of the real-time remote lecture to the participants using the SMS, the participant indicates the process to inform the conference server 120 of the intention to participate. In detail, the mixer 134 notifies the participants 150 who purchased the educational content in step 413 that the real-time remote lecture is started using the SMS. Then, the participant 150 recognizes that the real-time remote lecture is started through the SMS, and may determine whether to participate. If the participant 150 chooses not to participate in the lecture, the real-time remote lecture procedure ends immediately. On the contrary, when the participant selects to participate, the participant will notify the focus processor 122 of the intention to participate through SMS again.

Thereafter, steps 417 to 433 represent a process of forming a conference session for a remote lecture through a mass invitation method, and participants can also obtain a voice and ask questions as needed when the lecture is conducted by the floor chair. Indicates.

In operation 417, the focus processor 122 attempts to form a session for the multi conference using the Mattz invitation method to the participants 150 who express the intention to participate in the real-time remote lecture. In response, the participants 150 send a 200 OK message in step 419, whereby a session is established. In operation 421, the focus processor 122 receiving the 200 OK transmits a notification message notifying the start of the real-time remote lecture to the floor chair 140 and the participants 150 using SIP. Subsequently, the floor chair 140 requests the conference server 120 to multicast the data generated while starting the actual lecture in step 423. Accordingly, the multicast request for remote lecture information is delivered to the focus processor 122. In operation 425, the focus processor 122 requests the mixer 134 to multicast the information received from the floor chair 140 to the participants 150 using a media protocol. Accordingly, the mixer 134 multicasts the data about the real-time remote lecture to the participants 150 using the RTP in step 427.

Thereafter, steps 431 to 435 represent a process in which the participants 150 query. First, when the floor chair 140 releases the floor 142 to allow the participant 150 to speak in step 429, the participant 150 who wants to speak speaks in step 431. The floor 142 may be obtained using the FCP. Accordingly, the participants 150 can speak using the RTP in step 433.

Meanwhile, in the detailed description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the scope of the following claims, but also by those equivalent to the scope of the claims.

As described above, the present invention allows a terminal participant to receive a new real-time remote lecture service using a data packet network, and establishes a session with a plurality of participants at a time and provides a data service through a mass invitation method. In addition, the operator has the advantage of creating a new revenue model.

Claims (9)

In the real-time remote lecture method using a close-coupled multi-conference, A process in which a conference server notifies a plurality of participants of a short message service that the remote lecture is started; Inviting participants in response to the notification by mass invitation method, Forming a conference session between the participants and the conference through the mass invitation method; And if the session is established, the conference server multicasting data for the remote lecture to the participants. The method of claim 1, The floor chair managing the floor of the floor to release the floor for the participants to speak; Real-time remote lecture method using a tightly coupled multi-conference characterized in that it further comprises the step of any one of the participants to acquire and speak the floor. The method of claim 1, Before the notification to the plurality of participants, the conference server may further include forming a conference using a floor chair, a session initiation protocol (SIP), and a real-time transport protocol. Real-time remote lecture method using close-coupled multi-conference. The method of claim 1, When the conference server announces the start of the remote lecture by the short message service method, the participants receiving the announcement determine whether to participate in the remote lecture; Real-time remote lecture method using a close-coupled multi-conference characterized in that it further comprises the step of transmitting a participant in the short message service method to participate in the remote lecture. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of notifying the start of the remote lecture by a short message service method comprises: Real-time remote lecture method using a close-coupled multi-conference characterized in that the conference server is a process to notify the participants who purchased the training content in the short message service method that the remote lecture is started. In a real-time remote lecture system using tightly coupled multi-conference, Consists of a plurality of participants, a conference server forming a multi-conference with the plurality of participants, The conference server, A conference policy server that prepares a short message service for notifying the plurality of participants that the remote lecture is started when the multi-conference is formed; A mixer for notifying the plurality of participants that the remote lecture is started with the short message service, and multicasting data for the remote lecture to the participants in response to a data multicast request for the remote lecture; Participants who responded to the announcement are invited by mass invitation method, and upon receiving a response to the invitation from the participants, a session is established between the participants and the conference server, and the mixer provides data for the remote lecture. Real-time remote lecture system using a tightly coupled multi-conference characterized in that it comprises a focus processor for requesting multicast. The method of claim 6, Real-time remote lecture system using a tightly coupled multi-conference characterized in that it further comprises a floor chair for managing the right to speak, and release the floor so that any one of the participants can acquire and speak the floor. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of participants Upon receiving a notification indicating that the remote lecture is started, it is determined whether to participate in the remote lecture, and if the user wants to participate in the remote lecture, the short message service method provides a close coupling to the focus processor. Real-time remote lecture system using multi-conference. The method of claim 6, wherein the mixer Real-time remote lecture system using a close-coupled multi-conference characterized in that the participant who purchased the training content to announce the start of the remote lecture in a short message service method.

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