JPH0496543A - Multi-medium service system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the system to more easily cope with a revision or addition of a processing function corresponding to a medium for a server by connecting a terminal equipment and the server offering the multi-medium service by means of 1:1 connection control with an asynchronous transfer mode exchange. CONSTITUTION:A server 3 making medium conversion and medium synthesis distribution processing or the like is connected to an asynchronous transmission mode (ATM) exchange 2 accommodating plural terminal equipments 1 and the exchange 2 connects the terminal equipment 1 and the server 3 by 1:1 (point- to-point) connection control according to the multi-medium service request from the terminal equipment 1 and the exchange 2 connects other terminal equipment 1 and the server 2 by means of the 1: 1 connection control according to the request from the server 3 to offer the multi-medium service by the server 3.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] Regarding a multimedia service system that provides various services through multimedia communication, the purpose of this system is to enable a server to provide various multimedia services to terminal devices. A server that performs media conversion, media synthesis and distribution processing, etc. is connected to an asynchronous transfer mode exchange that accommodates a terminal device, and in accordance with a multimedia service request from the terminal device, the exchange connects the terminal device and the server as a pair. In response to a request from the server, the exchange connects the server and another terminal device using one-to-one connection control, and the server provides multimedia services.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a multimedia service system that provides various services through multimedia communication.

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM:
Asynchronous Transfer Mo
The standardization of the transmission system based on the CCITT (International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee) is underway. Using such an ATM system, it is possible to provide various multimedia services such as conferences or circular communications using multimedia such as audio, two images, data, and graphic information. In this case, it is desired to implement ATM network control without complicating it and by effectively utilizing resources such as switching equipment.

[Conventional technology]

The ATM system is a system in which audio, two images, data, graphic information, etc. are converted into cells and transmitted asynchronously.By using a large number of cells, media with a large amount of information can be easily transmitted together with media with a small amount of information. I can do it.

As shown in FIG. 9, this cell has a fixed length consisting of a 64-bit information field IF and a 5-byte header HD. In addition, the switching equipment in the ATM system sets up a vertical cell channel according to a connection request from a terminal device, and since the heart channel number is added to the cell header HD, it can be easily configured by self-routing etc. Exchange processing can be performed.

In ordinary telephone networks and data networks, services such as conference calls and round-trip communications are provided by call processing programs in exchanges. However, in the above-mentioned ATM system capable of multimedia transmission, multimedia conferencing and broadcast communication services have not been proposed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Call processing programs provide services for conferences, broadcast communications, etc. using a single medium such as voice information, and it is conceivable to provide such services for multimedia as well. In that case, for example, in order to provide a multimedia conference service, a server similar to a conference trunk (three-way call trunk) is installed in the exchange, and the terminal devices of conference participants are connected according to the call processing program of the exchange. However, since a plurality of media are handled for one call, call processing becomes extremely complicated, and it is difficult to create a call processing program.

Furthermore, each time a new service is added, it is necessary to change or add a call processing program, which poses a problem in maintaining the call processing program.

An object of the present invention is to enable a server to provide various multimedia services to a terminal device.

[Means to solve the problem]

The multimedia service system of the present invention provides various services using a server capable of processing multimedia, and the exchange facilitates call connection processing by performing one-to-one call connection processing between this server and terminal equipment. This will be explained with reference to FIG.

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) that accommodates multiple terminal devices 1
) A server 3 that performs media conversion, media synthesis and distribution processing, etc. is connected to the exchange 2, and according to a multimedia service request from the terminal device 1, the exchange 2
and server 3 one-to-one (point-to-point)
The exchange 2 connects another terminal device 1 and the server 3 by one-to-one connection control in response to a request from the server 3, and provides multimedia services by the server 3. .

Furthermore, a control virtual cell channel 4 is set up between the terminal device 1 and the server 3 via the exchange 2, and based on the control information transmitted and received via this control virtual channel 4,
This is to set up an information verticel channel 5 that transmits audio information, image information, etc.

The server 3 is composed of a transfer processing function section using an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), a processing function section corresponding to media, and a control function section that controls each section.

[Operation] In response to a multimedia service request from the terminal device 1, the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) exchange 2 performs call connection processing similar to the case of establishing a one-to-one (point-to-point) connection between the terminal devices 1. Terminal device 1 and server 3
Connect between. That is, the exchange 2 regards the server 3 as one of the terminal devices and performs connection control. When the terminal device 1 specifies, for example, a partner terminal device in response to a multimedia conference service request, the server 3 sends a connection request to the partner terminal device to the exchange 2, and the exchange 2 connects with this partner terminal device. A call connection process is performed to perform the above-mentioned one-to-one connection with the server 3. By repeating this, a plurality of terminal devices l are connected to the server 3 as shown in the figure, and a multimedia conference can be held by the server 3 performing synthesis and distribution processing of audio information and editing processing of image information. . Furthermore, it is also possible to perform a multimedia service in which image information that is partially edited, with the main parts of the image being the same, is simultaneously sent to a plurality of terminal devices 1 together with audio information, other data, etc.

Further, a control vertical cell channel 4 between the terminal device 1 and the server 3 is used for controlling services.

That is, it is used by the terminal device engineer to request services such as multimedia conferences and to specify the other party's terminal device to the server 3. An information verch cell channel 5 is set based on the control information from the control verch cell channel 4. This information verticel channel 5 includes audio 2 images,
It is used for transmitting data and graphic information.
Multimedia communication takes place.

Further, the server 3 controls the transfer processing function section and the media corresponding processing function section by means of the control function section, and controls the audio processing function section.

The processing function unit for media such as images, data, and graphic information performs various processes such as synthesis, distribution, conversion, and time accumulation, and the transfer processing function unit performs asynchronous transfer of cells with the exchange 2. Processing takes place.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and 11-1
．． 11-2.11-3 is a multimedia terminal device, 12
-1.12-2 is an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch;
13 is a server, 14 is a transfer processing function section, I5 is an image processing function section, I6 is an audio processing function section, and 17 is a processor (CPU) as a control function section. Further, 18 to 20 are control hard channels, and 21 to 26 are information vertical channels.

In this embodiment, a terminal device 11-1 and a server 13 are connected via an exchange 12-2.
-2.11-3 and server 13 are connected via exchange 12-1 to conduct a multimedia conference,
The server 13 includes an image processing function unit 15 that performs editing of image information, etc., and an audio processing function unit 1 that performs synthesis and distribution of audio information.
6 is shown.

The exchange 12-1 regards this server 13 as a terminal device and performs connection processing.
By making a call from 3, it is possible to specify a terminal device and establish an exchange connection. For example, from the terminal device 11-1 to the server 13
When a call is made to , a control verch cell channel 18 is set up via the exchange 12-2.12-1, and service control information is transmitted and received via this control verch cell channel I8,
Based on that, the information virtual channel 21 of audio information
By setting the information virtual channel 24 for image information and image information, multimedia communication of audio and images becomes possible between the terminal device 11-1 and the server 13.

When the server 13 sends a call to the terminal device 11-2. By setting the channel 22.23 and the image information verticel channel 25.26, multimedia communication of audio and images is possible between the terminal device 11-2.11-3 and the server 13. The image processing function section 15 and the audio processing function section 16 of the server I3 allow a multimedia conference to be held between the terminal devices 11-1 to 11-3. It is also possible to set up an information Hirch cell channel for facsimile information and to transmit and receive facsimile information between the terminal devices 11-1 to 11-3 via the server 3. In that case, the server 13 is provided with a processing function unit that handles facsimile information,
Processing such as editing and distribution of facsimile information will be performed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the operation of the embodiment of the present invention, showing a case where a multimedia conference is held by calling the terminal device 11-211-3 from the terminal device 11-1, and 12 is the exchange 12-1. 12-2 are shown together, and 13 is a server. Although an exchange 12-1 is interposed between the server 13 and the terminal devices 11-2 and 11-3, it is omitted for the sake of simplicity.

By calling from the terminal device 11-1 to the server 13,
The exchange 12 is point-to-point 1~ (hereinafter P-P
control Hirch cell channel (hereinafter referred to as VC) procedure
) 18 is set between the terminal device 111 and the server 13.

Through upper layer protocol communication using this control 1Vc1B, a control menu indicating the contents of the multimedia service, etc. is transmitted from the server 13 to the terminal device 11-1.

Menu selection information is transmitted from the terminal device 11-1 to the server 13 based on the control menu. In response to a request from the server 13 according to this menu selection information, an information VC is set via the exchange 12 (2), and communication using this control VC becomes possible (2). This information VC is converted into audio information VC2
1, image information VC2 for multimedia conference
4 is required, the image information VC2 by the P-P procedure
4 settings will be made.

Further, if the menu selection information indicates a multimedia conference and the terminal device 11-2, 113 is specified, the server 13
Control VC19,2 according to P-P procedure by transmission from
0 is set (■), communication by the control VCs 19 and 20 becomes possible (■), and the control VCs 19 and 20 notify the server 13 that a multimedia conference will be held. Then, the information VC is set according to the P-P procedure by the transmission from the server I3. If this information VC is audio information VC, image information VC is set by transmission from the server 13 as in the case described above.

Therefore, since the exchanges 12-1 and 12-2 only perform call connection control, even if a multimedia service is changed or added, the call processing program remains the same, and the program change in the server 13, It will just be an addition.

FIG. 4 is a sequence explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and shows the operation shown in FIG. 3 in more detail. That is, a call is made from the terminal device 11-1, and the terminal device ll2,1
1 to 3, when holding a multimedia conference using audio and images, the terminal device 11-1 to the exchange 12
When a call setup request message (SETUP) is sent to the switch I2-2, a call setup acceptance message (CA
LL-PROC) is sent to the terminal device 11-1, and a call setup request message (SETUP) is sent from the switch 12-2 to the switch 12-1 based on the call setup request message (SETUP). -1 sends a call setup request message (SETUP) to the server 13.

When the server 13 sends a call acceptance message (ALERT) in response to the call setup request message (SETup),
From exchange 12-1 to exchange 122, and from exchange 1
2-2 sends a call acceptance message (ALE) to the terminal device engineer 11.
RT) is sent. Then, when the server 13 sends a call setup message (CONN), an acknowledgment message (CONN-ACK) is sent from the exchange 12-1 to the server I.
3, and a call setup message (CONN) is sent to exchange 12-1.3. The message is sent to the terminal device 11-1 via ll-2, and an acknowledgment message (CONNACK) is sent from the exchange 12-2 to the exchange 12-1. As a result, control ■c is set, communication becomes possible, and server 1
3 sends out a control menu, and according to the control menu, menu selection information is sent from the terminal device 11-1 to the server I3.

Based on this menu selection information, for example, audio and images are selected, and the terminal devices 11-2 and 11-3 are specified. The above operations correspond to steps ① and ② in Fig. 3.

The server 13 sends a call setup request message (SETUP) to the terminal device 11-2 via the exchange 121 according to the menu selection information, and sends a call acceptance message (A L ERT) and a call request message to the terminal device 12-2. Setting message (CONN), confirmation message (CONN-AC
By sending and receiving K), a control VC is set between the server 13 and the terminal device 11-2, and a control VC is set up between the server 13 and the exchange 1.
A control VC is set between the server 13 and the terminal device 11-3 by sending and receiving a call setup request message (SETUP) to the terminal device 11-3 via the server 13 and the terminal device 11-3, as in the case described above. . This enables control VC communication. The above operations correspond to steps ① and ② in FIG. 3.

The server 3 also sends a call setup request message (SET'UP) to the terminal device 11-1 based on the menu selection information from the terminal device 11-1, and sends a call acceptance message (ALERT) and a call setup message (CONN). ),
By transmitting and receiving an acknowledgment message (CONN-ACK), for example, voice information VC is set and voice communication is enabled.

The above operations correspond to steps ① and ② in FIG. 3.

Next, a call setup request message (SETUP) is sent to the terminal device 11-1, and a call acceptance message (ALER
T), by sending and receiving call setup messages (CONN) and acknowledgment messages (CONN-ACK), for example,
The image information VC is set to enable image communication.

Also, the audio information VC is set in the terminal device 1 in the same manner for 2.11-3. This operation corresponds to ■ and ■ in FIG. 3, and also sets the image information VC, and sets the audio information VC and image information VC between the server 13 and each terminal device 11-1 to 11-3. and hold multimedia conferences.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a server according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which 31 is a transfer processing function section, 32-1 to 32-n are media processing function sections, and 33 is a control function section.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control function section 33 includes a processor (
It can be configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit (CPU)), and controls each part, as well as transmitting and receiving service control information via a control VC. In addition, the media-compatible processing function unit 32-1~
32-n is a processing function unit that performs two-distribution processing for synthesizing audio information in a multimedia conference as described above, a processing function unit that performs editing of image information, or a processing function unit that performs processing for combining facsimile information and data processed by a processor. It includes a processing function unit that performs media conversion.

Further, the transfer processing function section 31 corresponds to the transfer processing function section 14 in FIG. 2, and for example, as shown in FIG.
The cell C5 from the media-compatible processing function unit has the information VC identifier VCIi added to its header, and the cell control function units 34-1 to 34
-m, conversion of the information VC identifier and addition of the tag TAG are performed according to the control information from the control function unit 33. For example, the information VC identifier VCIi is converted to VCIj.

The cell switch function unit 35 has, for example, a self-routing function, and the cell CL that is routed and switched according to the tag TAG has, for example, an information VC identifier VCIj added thereto, and
11-1.

The cell control function units 34-1 to 34-m include a configuration consisting of tables 41 and 42 shown in FIG. be accessed. This table 42 is created according to control information from the control function unit 33, and contains one or more tags TAGI to TAGk and conversion information VC identifier
C1l to VCIk are stored, and the cell switch function unit 3
A tag according to the relationship between the input side and the output side of 5 is specified and added to the header of the cell CL, and the information VC identifier is converted. The number of copies indicates the number of times the cell CL needs to be transmitted, and a designated tag is added to the cell CL according to the number of copies. Such a self-routing function can employ various known configurations in addition to the configuration described above.

Further, FIG. 8 shows media-compatible processing function units 32-1 to 32-.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of main parts of the audio information processing function section in 43-1 to 43-n, 43-1 to 43-n are decelling sections, 44 is an audio mixing section, and 45 is a cell forming section.

The cell CL added from the transfer processing function section 31 has its header section removed in the decell sections 43-1 to 43-n, leaving only the information field, and the cell CL is added to the audio mixing section 44.

The audio mixing unit 44 performs one addition and one distribution of audio information according to control information from the control function unit 33, and performs digital or analog addition and two distribution processing in the conventional conference trunk. The output is the cell forming section 45
A header is added to the cell CL, which is added to the transfer processing function section 31 and sent to the terminal devices of the conference participants via the exchange.

Further, in the case of an image information processing function unit, editing between multiple pieces of image information, etc. can be performed, and for example, it can be configured to edit so that images from conference participants are displayed in a multi-window format.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified in various ways.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the present invention, since the asynchronous transfer mode exchange 2 connects the terminal device 1 and the server 3 for providing multimedia services by one-to-one connection control, There is an advantage that when changing or adding media services, it is possible to easily handle changes or additions to the media-compatible processing functions of the server 3 while leaving the call processing program of the exchange 2 unchanged.

Also, a control VC is set between the terminal device 1 and the server 3,
Since service control information can be sent and received and necessary information VC can be set from the server 3, connections between a plurality of terminal devices 1 can be easily controlled via the server 3.

Further, the server 3 includes a transfer processing function section, a media-compatible processing function section, and a control function section, and when changing or adding services, changes or additions to the media-compatible processing function section and control function section are necessary. This has the advantage of being easier to deal with when changing departments.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram explaining the principle of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of the operation of the embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 4 is a diagram of the embodiment of the invention. A sequence explanatory diagram, FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a server according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a block diagram of the main part of the transfer processing function section, FIG. 7 is a table explanatory diagram of the cell control function section, FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the main part of the voice information processing function section, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the cell. be. 1 is a terminal device, 2 is an asynchronous transfer mode switch, 3 is a server, 4 is a control vertical cell channel, and 5 is an information vertical cell channel.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A server (3) that performs media conversion, media synthesis and distribution processing, etc. is connected to an asynchronous transfer mode exchange (2) that accommodates a plurality of terminal devices (1).
), the exchange (2) connects the terminal device (1) and the server (3) by one-to-one connection control, and the exchange (2) connects the terminal device (1) and the server (3) in response to a request from the server (3). (2) is a multimedia service system characterized in that the server (3) and another terminal device (1) are connected by one-to-one connection control, and the server (3) provides multimedia services. . (2) A control virtual channel (4) is set up between the terminal device (1) and the server (3) via the asynchronous transfer mode switch (2), and the control virtual channel (4) is Multimedia service system according to claim 1, characterized in that the information virtual channel (5) is set up based on control information transmitted and received via the multimedia service system. (3) The server (3) is comprised of a transfer processing function section in an asynchronous transfer mode, a processing function section corresponding to media, and a control function section that controls each section. Multimedia service system described.