JP2007324931A - Communication device, conference system, its control method and its program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve usability as well as eliminating a burden resulting from a centralized MCU installation by integrating a UA and the MCU. <P>SOLUTION: A call control means 2 practices call control processes such as outgoing and incoming call processes by call control protocol such as SIP. Further, a telephone call means 3 (corresponding to the conventional SIP and UA) including a microphone, a speaker, and a CODEC packetizes and sends out transmitting telephone call contents, receives, restores and reproduces received telephone call contents (a telephone call process). Besides, the present device includes also a multipoint connecting means (corresponding to the conventional MCU) 4 which connects a plurality of other devices using the call control means 2, and transmits telephone call contents between these other devices and it own device (a multipoint connecting process). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for eliminating the burden of concentrated MCU installation and improving usability by integrating UA and MCU.

  In recent years, with the spread of communication network technologies represented by IP networks such as the Internet, not only the spread of personal computers (personal computers, PCs) but also the technology of making calls via IP networks (for example, patent documents). 1). The contents of the call are typically voice (VoIP), but there are various contents such as a moving picture such as a videophone and a screen display content of a personal computer.

  Such a device serving as a call terminal can be realized by installing a program in a personal computer as well as a dedicated device, and is called a UA (User Agent), SIP UA, or the like. SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is a typical call control protocol for performing call control (signaling) such as outgoing and incoming calls between UAs.

  In SIP, a SIP server is provided on the network separately from the UA, and this SIP server roughly has management information such as the IP address of each UA and a comparison table of telephone numbers. Then, the UA performs call control such as outgoing / incoming by communicating with the SIP server at a predetermined port, and the data of the call content such as voice is transmitted via the RTP (Real Directly exchange with the other party's UA using a data transfer protocol such as -time Transport Protocol.

  In addition to a one-to-one call, a technology for conferencing three or more parties is also widespread. In order to realize such a conference, conventionally, a multipoint connection device called MCU (Multipoint Control Unit) is provided on the network in addition to each UA and SIP server. The MCU is a kind of UA on the SIP, but has a plurality of connection ports such as RTP for simultaneous connection with a plurality of opponents.

In a conventional conference, in accordance with SIP, this MCU makes a call from the UA, the other UA that is the conference partner is called from the MCU, and each device participating in the conference is sent from another device. The call of the conference was established by the MCU mixing and transmitting the data of the call content such as the voice of. In this case, the topology (connection form) of the network is a so-called star type in which the connections of all UAs are concentrated on one MCU serving as the center (hub).
Special table 2005-506018

  However, in the conventional technology as described above, it is indispensable to install and manage the MCU on the network at the responsibility and burden of someone such as a telecommunications carrier, and the load on the MCU increases as the number of UAs participating in the conference increases. There was a problem of increasing. For this reason, high-performance MCUs and broadband connection lines are prepared in advance to bear high costs, the number of conference participants is limited, and when the number of participants increases, call quality such as sound interruption occurs. There were issues such as.

  Further, in the conventional technology as described above, when switching from a one-to-one call that does not use an MCU to a conference call that uses an MCU, the call has to be disconnected once, and there is a problem that it is not easy to use. .

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to eliminate the burden of intensive MCU installation and improve usability by integrating the UA and the MCU.

  Based on the above object, one aspect of the present invention is a communication device that performs a conference by connecting to other devices including other communication devices and exchanging call contents, and performs call control using a call control protocol. A communication means for packetizing and sending transmission contents and receiving and restoring reproduction of received contents, and a plurality of other apparatuses using the call control means. And a multipoint connection means for transmitting a call content between the other devices and the own device.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in the above aspect, the multipoint connection means further includes a plurality of connection ports for connecting to a plurality of other devices, the connection port, and the call control protocol. A conference control unit that controls participation and leaving of the conference by connection of the device, and a call content transmission unit that transmits a call content between a plurality of other devices and between each of the other devices and the own device. It is characterized by.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the call content transmission unit includes: a reception unit that receives transmission information representing the call content from a plurality of other connected devices; and Therefore, mixing means for generating composite transmission information by mixing transmission information received by the receiving means from each other apparatus excluding other apparatuses and transmission information from the own apparatus, and the composite transmission generated by the mixing means Transmitting means for transmitting information to a corresponding other device.

  In this way, by integrating the function of the multipoint connection device that mixes and distributes voices and the like at the time of the conference with the device of the call terminal, the burden of installing a separate MCU is eliminated, and the conference call is started from a one-to-one call. The system can be seamlessly transferred without disconnection, and the usability is improved. Even if the number of terminals participating in the conference is increased, it is possible to avoid deterioration in call quality without a special high-function MCU or a broadband connection line.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the call content transmission unit includes: the reception unit and the transmission unit configured to transmit the composite transmission information together with the composite transmission information. The mixing means transmits and receives a weight number indicating whether it is composite, and the mixing means mixes the transmission information from its own device and the composite transmission information from another device at a ratio based on the weight number.

  In this way, by transmitting the number of weights of the mixed sound or the like and reflecting it in the mixing ratio, an appropriate volume ratio can be easily maintained even when sound is transmitted in multiple stages between sequentially connected devices.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, when the self-apparatus tries to add another new apparatus to a conference already connected to another communication apparatus, the self-apparatus is directly or indirectly connected to the self-apparatus. It is characterized by having connection request means for requesting connection with the new device in another device already connected.

  In this way, by requesting other devices participating in the conference to connect to a new device, even if the device is full with respect to the maximum number of simultaneous connections, if there is space in the other device (daisy chain, chain connection) The number of conference participants can be increased.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, a topology storage unit that stores a current topology between the devices participating in the conference, and a topology stored in the topology storage unit are also provided. And topology control means for controlling the actual topology.

  In this way, the topology between each device participating in the conference is stored, and based on that, the existing device is connected to which existing device, and the current state is reconnected to improve By controlling whether or not to perform the conference, it becomes easy to utilize the conference with the best characteristics such as transmission delay.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the control right processing further establishes a control right at the start of the conference and transfers the control right to each other device participating in the conference The topology control means controls the topology when the own device has the control right.

  In this way, it is possible to easily and smoothly realize topology control without waste or contradiction by having the right and responsibility to control the topology of the device that has the control right to pass between the devices participating in the conference. It becomes.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, a predetermined evaluation value indicating whether the communication state is good is acquired and stored in a predetermined evaluation value storage unit for each device including the own device. The evaluation value acquisition unit and the topology control unit control the topology so as to optimize a predetermined evaluation index based on the evaluation value stored in the evaluation value storage unit.

  In this way, at the start or after the start of a conference call, an evaluation value that represents the communication state between each device is obtained, and the topology is controlled based on the evaluation value, so that the conditions for each route between the devices, etc. It is possible to easily and surely realize an optimum topology in accordance with the actual situation based on a clear standard.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the evaluation value acquisition unit further includes a delay time for each communication path between the devices as an evaluation value, and the topology control unit includes the evaluation value. And obtaining the evaluation index.

  In this way, using the delay time between devices as an evaluation value and performing topology control that minimizes the delay time, uncomfortable inconveniences such as unnatural intervals between calls and answers or blocking words from each other Can be effectively avoided.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the evaluation value acquisition unit acquires an internal delay in each device, and adds the evaluation time in addition to a delay time for each communication path between the devices. The value is stored in the evaluation value storage means as a value.

  In this way, by adding an internal delay in the apparatus to the delay time, it is possible to realize a highly accurate topology control that matches the actual situation.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the evaluation value acquisition unit may use a maximum or average jitter amount for each communication path between the devices as an evaluation value, and the topology control unit may include the The maximum value or average value of each evaluation value is used as the evaluation index.

  In this way, by performing topology control that minimizes jitter by using the amount of jitter between devices as an evaluation value, it is possible to effectively avoid deterioration in speech quality such as voice shake and tremor.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the evaluation value acquisition unit may use a packet loss rate as an evaluation value for each communication path between the devices, and the topology control unit may include the evaluation value. The maximum value or the average value is used as the evaluation index.

  In this way, by using the packet loss rate between devices as an evaluation value and performing topology control that minimizes the packet loss rate, it is possible to effectively avoid speech quality degradation such as sound interruptions and dropped frames of video. .

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the topology control unit further stores the topology storage unit in a connection between devices in which evaluation values are stored in the evaluation value storage unit. It is characterized by having topology determining means for judging a connection to be added to or reconnected to the current topology by comparing superiority and inferiority of those not connected in the current topology.

  In this way, a rational topology can be easily realized by performing a change of connection that provides an effective improvement based on an evaluation value that has been found between devices.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the topology control unit is further configured to, based on the evaluation value stored in the evaluation value storage unit, when a new device is to participate in the conference. Thus, among the devices currently participating in the conference, the device is connected to the device having the best connection evaluation value for the new device.

  In this way, the introduction of a clear standard to select the device that has the best evaluation value of the connection in the selection of which device that joins the conference to which device has already joined the conference. It is possible to easily and reliably realize the optimum topology including the evaluation index.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the topology control means further includes the evaluation value storage means for the evaluation value of the connection between the devices already established during the meeting. The reconnection is performed by reconnecting with another connection path in which the evaluation value is stored in the evaluation value, and the reconnection for which the evaluation value is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold and is greatly improved is determined.

  In this way, it is possible to follow dynamic changes in the transmission environment by reconnecting the largest connection whose evaluation value is greater than or equal to the predetermined value even during the conference, and in particular, efficient and lean topology improvement is realized. It becomes possible.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the topology control unit may further target the connection with the worst evaluation value among the connections between the already established devices during the conference. The reconnection for improving the evaluation value is determined by reconnection by another connection path in which the evaluation value is stored in the evaluation value storage means.

  In this way, even during a conference, by reconnecting the connection with the worst evaluation value and improving the evaluation value, in addition to the device related to that connection, the overall call and connection status can be raised, and the quality of the conference such as a call can be improved. Can be effectively improved.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the topology control unit further determines whether each device involved in the conference is in the same LAN, and the devices in the same LAN It is characterized in that they are connected in the same LAN, and one of them is connected to a device in another LAN via the WAN.

  Thus, by giving priority to the connection in the LAN over the WAN, transmission delay, jitter, packet loss rate and other unfavorable communication elements can be effectively suppressed.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the load acquisition unit that acquires the machine load of the own device, and the own device or another device based on the machine load acquired by the load acquisition unit. And an upper limit number control means for determining the upper limit number of simultaneous connections.

  In this way, by concentrating connections by increasing the maximum number of simultaneous connections for devices with a large machine load margin, devices with no margin can avoid excessive loads, and fair and effective topologies that are compatible with the capabilities of each device. Can be realized, and it becomes easy to cope with the expansion of the scale such as an increase in the number of simultaneous participants and a traffic volume of a call.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, when the topology control unit attempts to cause a new device to participate in the conference, simultaneous connection among the devices currently participating in the conference is performed. The new device is connected to a device having a large number of vacant numbers or the number of vacant numbers excluding the number of connected devices from the upper limit number.

  In this way, by connecting a new device participating in the conference preferentially to a device with a sufficient number of connections, such as a low machine load, each device has an appropriate number of connections according to the capacity, and the call quality is improved. It becomes possible to improve.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the control right processing unit transfers the control right to a device having a predetermined condition that is most advantageous among the device and the other device. Features.

  As described above, by giving a control right to a device having advantageous conditions such as a connection state with another device and performing overall control of the topology and the like, the responsiveness of processing such as topology change can be improved.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the control right processing unit receives the control right preferentially to a device having a large number of connected devices as the predetermined condition. It is characterized by passing.

  In this way, by giving priority to devices that have a large number of connected devices, control is concentrated in a so-called star shape, reducing the number of hops, and meeting or topology under advantageous communication conditions. Control can be applied quickly and reliably, and the conference can proceed smoothly and comfortably.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the predetermined condition for each device is a large number of the simultaneous connection upper limit numbers.

  As described above, by passing the control right to a device having a large machine load and a large simultaneous connection upper limit, smooth transmission of call contents and topology control can be stably realized.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the predetermined condition for each device is that an average value of the evaluation values in connection between the device and another device is the best. It is characterized by that.

  As described above, by passing the control right to a device having the best evaluation value in connection with another device, collection and control of information related to the conference such as the topology becomes stable and reliable.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the control right processing unit assigns the inheritance order of the control right to each device participating in the conference in an order in which the predetermined condition is advantageous. The control right is transferred in accordance with the inheritance order when the device holding the control right leaves the conference.

  In this way, by allocating the inheritance order of control rights in advance, even if a device with the control rights unexpectedly leaves the conference due to a communication failure or the like, the control rights are inherited quickly and smoothly, and the conference and topology control The processing can be continued smoothly.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the topology control unit further includes a topology determination unit that determines connection reconnection between devices, and the topology determination unit that reconnects connections between devices. The timing detection means for detecting the timing of the change by monitoring the call data in the conference, and the contents of the reconnection determined by the topology determination means when the timing of the change is detected by the timing detection means And a change execution means for executing.

  In this way, by monitoring the call data, detecting the appropriate timing and reconnecting, it is possible to smoothly optimize the topology without making participants aware of instantaneous interruptions or changes in the transmission state of voice etc. It becomes.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the timing detection unit detects the timing of the change when the transmission traffic amount exceeds a predetermined reference.

  In this way, by adopting a simple standard of reducing the amount of transmission traffic, it becomes possible to quickly and surely detect the timing of a change such as the content of a call that has little influence on the conference, and to quickly execute a topology change.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the timing detection unit may detect a change timing with a capture of a decrease exceeding a predetermined reference with respect to a meaningful traffic amount of voice data. Features.

  In this way, by reconnecting when the voice traffic volume decreases, that is, when there is a high possibility that the conversation is interrupted, it is possible to avoid interruption of the speech being spoken, and topology optimization is performed inconspicuously at any time It becomes possible.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the timing detection unit further detects a change timing by capturing a significant traffic decrease of the moving image data.

  In this way, by changing the topology when the amount of moving image data decreases, video stills and screen disturbances occur at bad times such as during presentations and during discussions, and water is poured into the conference flow. Disadvantages can be easily avoided.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, each of the devices participating in the conference and a connection line representing a connection between the devices are excellent in the evaluation value corresponding to the connection between the devices. It has a GUI unit that displays a screen with a positional relationship that is far from inferior, and receives a command to reconnect the connection and transmits it to the topology control unit by dragging and dropping one end of the connection line with a pointing device. It is characterized by.

  In this way, on a display screen of a communication device having a control right, the closer the devices are to each other, the shorter the connection line is, and the longer the evaluation value is, the longer the connection line is displayed. Since the connection can be instructed while easily grasping the connection status of the entire conference at a glance, the topology change based on the user's experience and knowledge can be freely tried at any time.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, there is further provided NAT transmission means for performing NAT traversal communication with the outside of the LAN firewall, and each means is realized by a process of a computer program. A communication apparatus characterized in that the information transmission / reception is performed by internal transmission, and the multipoint connection means and the NAT transmission means are integrated and integrated as a single process.

  Thus, by integrating and integrating the processes of each function of multipoint connection and NAT transmission, internal transmission and processing load between them can be eliminated according to the number of connections. It becomes easy to expand.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the NAT transmission unit further communicates with the NAT transmission unit of another communication device existing inside the other firewall from the inside of the firewall. Tunneling is realized by mediating through a predetermined relay device installed in the network.

  In this way, for a call with a communication device inside a different firewall, the conference according to the present invention goes beyond Symmetric NAT, which cannot be handled by STUN and UDP hole punching, by transmitting call control and voice packets via a relay device outside the firewall. Can be called.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the NAT transmission unit further transmits the UDP communication performed by the own apparatus to the NAT of another communication apparatus existing outside the firewall or inside another firewall. It is characterized in that communication over NAT is realized by exchanging with the transmission means by communication simulating TCP.

  In this way, with respect to UDP communication such as VoIP, transfer communication is performed by simulating TCP communication between devices provided on the inside and outside of the firewall, regardless of the type or setting of the firewall or NAT. On the side of the inter-connection function, NAT traversal can be performed easily and reliably without supporting a special protocol.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, in addition to the multipoint connection unit and the NAT transmission unit, the call unit is integrated and integrated as a single process. .

  In this way, by integrating and integrating the process including the calling means, it is possible to eliminate the internal transmission between the calling means and the multi-conversion connection means and its processing load, and an information device having a limited CPU capability such as a PDA. The application of the present invention becomes easier.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a conference system that combines a plurality of communication devices according to any of the above aspects via a communication network.

  The method and program are the same as above.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the integration of UA and MCU eliminates the burden of concentrated MCU installation and improves usability.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the assumptions common to the explanations already given in the techniques and issues are omitted as appropriate.

[1. Constitution〕
The present embodiment relates to a conference system that combines a plurality of communication devices of the present invention via a communication network such as a LAN or the Internet. FIG. 1 shows one communication device (hereinafter “this device”) based on such a combination. It is a figure which shows the structure centering on this.

  In other words, the present apparatus is connected to other communication apparatuses according to the present invention and other apparatuses including conventional IP telephone terminals (these are also collectively referred to as “apparatuses”), and receives and transmits call contents such as voice. The communication device 1 that performs the above can be configured as a dedicated device using an electronic circuit, but can also be realized by a general personal computer.

  In this case, an audio input / output unit such as a handset or a microphone and a speaker, a communication unit with a communication network such as a LAN or a wireless LAN, and an arithmetic control unit (such as a CPU of a computer) for controlling each unit are provided. The following elements shown in FIG. 1 are realized by the control in FIG. 1. These elements are processing means for realizing and executing the respective functional actions of the present invention.

[2. (Overview of effects)
That is, first, in this apparatus, the call control means 2 performs call control processing such as outgoing / incoming calls using a call control protocol such as SIP. In addition, a call means (UA) 3 using a microphone, a speaker, a CODEC, and the like performs packetization and transmission of transmission contents and reception and restoration reproduction of reception contents with the user of the own apparatus (call processing). . The call means 3 corresponds to a conventional (SIP) UA.

  The present apparatus also has a multipoint connection means 4, which is a conventional MCU, and is connected to a plurality of other apparatuses using the call control means 2, and between these other apparatuses and The contents of the call are transmitted to the own device (multipoint connection processing).

[2-1. Conference control)
Here, the first role of the multipoint connection means 4 is to control the conference such as participation and leaving of the participants. That is, the multipoint connection means 4 includes a call control means 2 as shown in FIG. 1, and the call control means 2 has a plurality of connection ports (call control in FIG. 1) for connecting to a plurality of other devices. The means 2 is shown in a rectangle). Then, using these connection ports and a call control protocol such as SIP, the conference control means 5 makes a call for calling the conference to the other device or accepts an incoming call for applying for the conference from the other device and responds to these in response. Controls participation and leaving of a conference by connecting the device (conference control processing).

[2-2. (Communication of call contents)
In such a conference, the multipoint connection means 4 plays a second role, and the call content transmission means 6 transmits the call contents between a plurality of other devices and between each of these other devices and the own device. (Call content transmission processing). That is, in the call content transmitting means 6, the receiving means 61 receives transmission information such as a voice RTP packet representing the call contents from a plurality of other connected devices (reception processing), and the mixing means 62 is connected to each other device. Therefore, the sending information received by the receiving means 61 from each other device other than the other devices and the sending information from the own device are mixed (combined) to generate composite sending information (mixing process), and the sending means 63 Then, the composite transmission information generated by the mixing means 62 is transmitted to the corresponding other devices (transmission processing).

  For example, the example of FIG. 2 shows a state where the devices A, B, C, and D are sequentially connected in series to hold a conference. In this figure, if the voice of the user of each device is indicated by the same symbols A, B... As the device, for example, device B provides composite A with mixed transmission information obtained by mixing speech B + C + D other than device A.

[2-3. (Summary of effect)
As described above, there is no multipoint connection device by integrating the function of the multipoint connection device (MCU) that mixes and distributes voice and the like at the time of the conference with the communication device (UA) that is a call terminal. Thus, a conference can be performed only with communication devices. This not only eliminates the burden of installing another MCU at the responsibility of someone else, such as a provider, and the introduction of barriers such as the construction of a cost recovery model, but also improves ease of use by allowing seamless transition from one-to-one calls to conference calls In addition, even when the number of terminals participating in the conference increases, it is possible to avoid a decrease in call quality without a special high-function MCU or a broadband connection line.

[3. (Transmission of weight)
When the content of the call is voice, it is desirable to control so that the voice volume of each user is evenly transmitted according to the number of users included in each voice mixed by each device. In this case (FIG. 1), in the call content transmission means 6, the reception means 61 and the transmission means 63 transmit and receive the number of weights indicating how many pieces of information the composite transmission information is combined with the composite transmission information. The mixing means 62 mixes the transmission information from the own device and the composite transmission information from the other device at a ratio based on the weight number.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 2, in the device B, since the sound A from the device A side has a weight number 1, it is mixed with the sound B of its own device at a ratio of 1: 1, and the device C is defined as the sound A + B having the weight number 2. Send to. Upon receiving this, the device C receives the weight number 2, mixes the speech A + B and the speech C of its own device at a ratio of 2 to 1, and transmits it to the device D as a speech A + B + C with a weight number of 3. Such mixing based on a ratio of 2: 1, for example, can be realized by including a process in which only the audio digital data on the weight number 2 side is doubled by a left bit shift in units of samples and added together.

  In this way, by transmitting the number of weights (composite number) of the mixed audio and the like and reflecting it in the mixing ratio, an appropriate volume ratio can be easily maintained even when audio is transmitted in multiple stages between sequentially connected devices. It becomes possible.

[4. (Consignment of connection)
When a device that has already participated in such a conference joins a new device by connection, other devices that are already connected depending on circumstances such as the maximum number of simultaneous connections per device and load distribution It is also possible to entrust connection to other devices. In this case, for example (FIG. 1), the connection request means 7 provided in the multipoint connection means 4 is connected when the own apparatus tries to add another new apparatus to a conference already connected to another communication apparatus. When the maximum number of simultaneous connections restricted by the number of ports is full, a connection with the new device is requested to another device already connected directly or indirectly to the own device (connection request processing).

  For example, as shown in the conceptual diagram of FIG. 3, the simultaneous connection upper limit number of each device is 3 for example, and the simultaneous connection upper limit number of the device A is simultaneous even when the connection with the devices B, C, and D is full. By entrusting connection (reconnection request) to the device D having two spaces in the upper limit of connection, it becomes possible to further join the devices E and F to the conference. The topology (connection form) by the six devices illustrated in FIG. 3 is equivalent to FIG. 4 in another form and is a star type having a branch.

  In this way, by requesting other devices participating in the conference to connect to a new device, even if the device is full with respect to the maximum number of simultaneous connections, if there is space in the other device (daisy chain, chain connection) The number of conference participants can be increased.

[5. (Topology control)
In addition, it is desirable to optimally control the topology (connection form) between devices in a conference. In this case (FIG. 1), the topology storage unit 8 of the multipoint connection unit 4 stores the current topology among the devices participating in the conference in an appropriate format such as network structure data. Based on the topology stored in the topology storage unit 8, the topology control unit 9 determines an additional part due to participation when a new device participates or determines a change after participation to determine the actual topology The actual topology is controlled by reflecting it in (topology control processing).

  In this way, the topology between each device participating in the conference is stored, and based on that, the existing device is connected to which existing device, and the current state is reconnected to improve By controlling whether or not to perform the conference, it becomes easy to utilize the conference with the best characteristics such as transmission delay.

[6. (Granting control rights)
It is desirable that the topology control as described above is performed by a device having a unique control right among the devices participating in the conference. In this case, the control right processing means 11 establishes the control right at the start of the conference and transfers the control right to each other device participating in the conference like a so-called token (control right processing). ). The topology control unit 9 controls the topology when the own device has the control right.

  In this way, it is possible to easily and smoothly realize topology control without waste or contradiction by having the right and responsibility to control the topology of the device that has the control right to pass between the devices participating in the conference. It becomes.

[7. (Topology control by evaluation value)
As a reference for the topology control as described above, it is desirable to use an evaluation value representing the degree of quality for each connection between devices. In this case, the evaluation value acquisition unit 12 acquires a predetermined evaluation value indicating the quality of the communication state for each device including the own device by actual measurement or recording at the time of past connection, and the like. Are stored in the evaluation value storage means 13 (evaluation value acquisition process). Then, the topology control unit 9 optimally selects a predetermined evaluation index obtained from a predetermined function or evaluation standard based on the evaluation value stored in the evaluation value storage unit 13 or based on each evaluation value (for example, The topology is controlled (selected / determined) so that it is minimized.

  In this way, at the start or after the start of a conference call, an evaluation value that represents the communication state between each device is obtained, and the topology is controlled based on the evaluation value, so that the conditions for each route between the devices, etc. It is possible to easily and surely realize an optimum topology in accordance with the actual situation based on a clear standard.

[7-1. (Topology control by delay time)
One of the evaluation values is a delay time. In this case, the evaluation value acquisition unit 12 uses the delay acquisition unit 21 to set the delay time for each communication path between the devices as the evaluation value. The delay time for each communication path is obtained as the delay time between both ends of each inter-device path by, for example, integrating the delay time for each inter-device section. Then, the topology control means 9 obtains an evaluation index based on the evaluation value as described above as an index for judging the degree of quality of the entire current topology which is such an evaluation value. The evaluation index when the delay time for each path is used as the evaluation value may be the maximum delay time of each communication path or the average delay time of each communication path.

For example, taking the topology shown in FIG. 5 as an example, the evaluation value (delay time) for each communication path composed of a connection section between one or two or more devices is A−B = 80.
A-C = 120 (80 + 40)
A−D = 100 (80 + 20)
A−E = 130 (80 + 50)
A-F = 150 (80 + 40 + 30)
A-G = 190 (80 + 40 + 70)
B−C = 40
BD = 20
BE = 50
BF = 70 (40 + 30)
B−G = 110 (40 + 70)
D−E = 70 (20 + 50)
DF = 90 (20 + 40 + 30)
DG = 130 (20 + 40 + 70)
E−F = 120 (50 + 40 + 30)
EG = 160 (50 + 40 + 70)
FG = 100 (30 + 70)
(The unit is milliseconds), and the parentheses are the breakdown of the delay time of each section constituting each communication path. In the example of FIG. 5, the evaluation index of the delay time may be the maximum delay time or the average delay time, and is approximately 102 when taking the average delay time of each communication path. If the maximum delay time is taken, it is 190. The maximum number of simultaneous connections for each device is four.

  Based on this state, let us consider a state improvement by changing the topology to reconnect a part. As described above, in the topology of FIG. 5, the maximum delay time is A-B-C-G = 190. As information on the delay time that may be used for a new connection, the broken line in FIG. As shown, BG = 70, DC = 30, and DF = 40 are known (known).

  As shown in FIG. 6, the known delay time included between the devices A, B, C, and G related to the maximum delay time 190 is B−G = 70, and currently via G−C−B = 110, If GB is directly connected, 70 is sufficient, so 40 can be improved (FIGS. 7 to 8). However, in the state shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, since the simultaneous connection upper limit number 4 of B to be directly connected is full, C included in the connection destination of B is excluded from B and known D (−C = 30) (FIG. 8), and G is directly connected to the vacant port of B so that BG = 70 (FIG. 8). As a result, even if A−B = 80 is added, A−B−G = 150, which is an improvement of 40 from 190 before the change.

  Here, the above example is an example in which the processing is started from A−G = 190 having the longest delay time, but if attention is given to the one having the largest improvement, D (−B−C) before the change 50-improvement by replacing -F = 90 (FIG. 5) with known DF = 40 (FIG. 6) (FIGS. 8, 9).

  In this way, using the delay time between devices as an evaluation value and performing topology control that minimizes the delay time, uncomfortable inconveniences such as unnatural intervals between calls and answers or blocking words from each other Can be effectively avoided.

  Note that in order to perform complete optimization, it is necessary to grasp the evaluation values and evaluation indexes for all combinations between devices, but this is not always necessary, and the optimum among known combinations is not necessary. A sufficient effect can be obtained by performing the conversion.

  In addition, RTCP (RFC1889, RFC1890) is generally used to exchange the above evaluation values and evaluation indices (http://www.7key.jp/nw/rtcp.html). If the delay in the SIP response (INVITE response, OPTIONS, SUBSCRIBE, INFO response, etc.) is simply grasped as the round-trip delay time, it is convenient without RTP transmission.

[7-2. (Considering internal delay)
As for the delay, it is desirable to add in consideration of an internal delay caused by jitter buffer processing in each device in addition to a transmission delay between the devices. In this case (FIG. 1), the evaluation value acquisition unit 12, particularly the delay acquisition unit 21 acquires an internal delay in each device by receiving or measuring a setting input from the user, and for each communication path between the devices. In addition to the delay time, the evaluation value storage unit 13 stores the evaluation value as a sum value or a separate value.

  For example, when the average depth of the jitter buffer in each device = 80 and the internal processing time for speech synthesis = 20, the internal delay in each device is 100. Considering this, for example, in the case of FIG. 9, the total maximum delay time is not A−B−G = 80 + 70 = 150, but A−B−D−F = 80 + 20 + 40 + internal delay 100 × 2 = 340 . Further, for example, if there is a margin in the upper limit number of simultaneous connections of the device B and the configuration of FIG. 16 is considered, in the configuration of FIG. 16, the total maximum delay time including the internal delay is A-B-G = 80 + 70 + internal delay 100 = 250.

  In this way, by adding the internal delay in the device to the delay time and reflecting it in the topology control, it is possible to realize a highly accurate topology control that matches the actual situation.

[7-3. (Topology control by jitter)
Another example of the evaluation value is jitter. In this case (FIG. 1), the evaluation value acquisition means 12, particularly the jitter acquisition means 22, uses the maximum or average jitter amount for each communication path between the devices as an evaluation value (jitter value), and the topology control means 9 The maximum or average value of each jitter value, which is a value, is used as an evaluation index.

  In this way, by performing topology control that minimizes jitter by using the amount of jitter between devices as an evaluation value, it is possible to effectively avoid deterioration in speech quality such as voice shake and tremor.

[7-4. (Topology control by packet loss rate)
Yet another example of the evaluation value is a packet loss rate. In this case, the evaluation value acquisition unit 12, particularly the loss rate acquisition unit 23, uses the packet loss rate as an evaluation value for each communication path between the devices, and the topology control unit 9 determines the maximum value of the packet loss rate as an evaluation value or The average value is used as an evaluation index.

  In this way, by using the packet loss rate between devices as an evaluation value and performing topology control that minimizes the packet loss rate, it is possible to effectively avoid speech quality degradation such as sound interruptions and dropped frames of video. .

  Note that, regarding the jitter and the packet loss rate, unlike the delay time, the individual or maximum value for each section is evaluated, not the added value for each path section delimited by the apparatus.

[8. (Topology control procedure)
In the topology control as described above, in the topology control means 9, the topology determination means 91 is currently stored in the topology storage means 8 among the connections between the devices whose evaluation values are stored in the evaluation value storage means 13. By comparing the superiority and inferiority of those not connected in the topology of (1), a connection to be added or reconnected to the current topology is determined (topology determination processing).

  In this way, a rational topology can be easily realized by performing a change of connection that provides an effective improvement based on an evaluation value that has been found between devices. It should be noted that it is convenient if the evaluation value is stored at the time of connection between devices, and the topology is determined by omitting the trial such as actual measurement.

[8-1. (Control during new participation)
The topology control is first performed depending on which device is connected when a new device is to participate in the conference. In this case, when the topology control unit 9 attempts to cause a new device to participate in the conference, the topology determination unit 91 determines whether each of the currently participating in the conference based on the evaluation value stored in the evaluation value storage unit 13. Among the devices, the device is connected to the device having the best connection evaluation value for the new device.

  In this way, the introduction of a clear standard to select the device that has the best evaluation value of the connection in the selection of which device that joins the conference to which device has already joined the conference. It is possible to easily and reliably realize the optimum topology including the evaluation index.

[8-2. (Topology change during meeting)
Further, it is possible to change the topology even during the conference, and the examples shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 are examples. Furthermore, one of the criteria for changing which part is the magnitude of improvement such as an evaluation value.

  In this case, in the topology control unit 9, the topology determination unit 91 stores the evaluation value in the evaluation value storage unit 13 for the evaluation value of the connection between the devices already established during the meeting. By reconnection by another connection path, reconnection that determines the evaluation value to be the most greatly improved over the predetermined threshold value is determined. For example, in the example of FIGS. 5 to 9, the case where D− (B−C−) F = 90 is directly connected at a known DF = 40 and is improved by 50.

  In this way, it is possible to follow dynamic changes in the transmission environment by reconnecting the largest connection whose evaluation value is greater than or equal to the predetermined value even during the conference, and in particular, efficient and lean topology improvement is realized. It becomes possible.

[8-3. (The worst connection topology change)
It is also possible to change the connection with the worst evaluation value in the current situation, not the range of improvement. In this case, in the topology control means 9, the topology determination means 91 sets the evaluation value in the evaluation value storage means 13 for the connection with the worst evaluation value among the connections between the devices already established during the meeting. The reconnection to improve the evaluation value is determined by the reconnection by the other connection path stored. For example, in the example shown in FIGS. 5 to 9, a known BG = 70 is introduced into A− (B−C−) G = 190 where the evaluation value is the worst and 40 is improved.

  In this way, even during a conference, by reconnecting the connection with the worst evaluation value and improving the evaluation value, in addition to the device related to that connection, the overall call and connection status can be raised, and the quality of the conference such as a call can be improved. Can be effectively improved.

[9. Priority on connection within LAN
In addition, as a standard for changing the topology, which can be applied without evaluating the evaluation values at the connection between individual devices as described above, and can be used in combination with these evaluation values, It is conceivable that the connection in the LAN is given priority over the connection via the WAN such as the Internet.

  In this case, in the topology control means 9, the topology determination means 91 determines whether or not each device involved in the conference is in the same LAN (via WAN) by using a subnet mask or the like, and between the devices in the same LAN. Are connected in the same LAN, and one of the devices is connected to a device in another LAN via the WAN. For example, as an example in which a group of devices within the same LAN are surrounded by a broken line, the topology in FIG. 11 is connected between WANs 0-2 and 4-6 in the topology of FIG. Excellent.

  Thus, by giving priority to the connection in the LAN over the WAN, transmission delay, jitter, packet loss rate and other unfavorable communication elements can be effectively suppressed.

  Further, it is possible to determine the superiority or inferiority of the connection summarized through the WAN as described above based on the evaluation value such as the delay time as already described. For example, in the topologies of FIGS. 12 and 13, when the delay between 2-4 is smaller than between 0-4, the delay in FIG. 13 can be suppressed more than in FIG.

[10. (Considering machine load)
Further, the upper limit number of simultaneous connections of each device may be set in consideration of the machine load. In this case, in the multipoint connection unit 4, the load acquisition unit 14 acquires the machine load of its own device as an average value of the CPU usage rate by actual measurement or the like (load acquisition process), and the upper limit number control unit 15 For a device or another device, the simultaneous connection upper limit number is determined based on the machine load acquired by the load acquisition unit 14 (upper limit number control process).

  This means that if there is a device with high capability, the delay can be suppressed by increasing the number of devices that can be accommodated simultaneously. For example, in FIG. The maximum number of HOPs is 2, but in the example of FIG. 15 in which the upper limit number of simultaneous connections of the apparatus 1 is larger than that, the number of HOPs is zero, and the delay can be suppressed more than in the topology of FIG.

  As another example, for example, when the CPU capability of the device B in the examples of FIGS. 5 to 9 is high and a large number of simultaneous connections can be secured, the topology of FIG. Easy to ensure quality. This is a star type in which all other devices are directly connected to the device B serving as a hub, and since the path does not become multistage, it is easy to reduce both transmission delay and internal delay, and reduce the possibility of occurrence of jitter and loss. It is easy.

  In this case, when the device B is approaching the CPU capacity limit, the processing may not be completed, the internal processing delay may increase, the packet loss may increase, and the transmission timing may become unstable. In this embodiment, the load acquisition means 14 and the upper limit number control means 15 determine the upper limit number of simultaneous connections after grasping the processing capacity limit of each device, and in this embodiment, determine the optimum topology among them. Because of the choice, those problems can be avoided. The machine load is not an evaluation value but a constraint condition that limits the number of simultaneous connections.

  Note that the CPU capacity, load, and processing capacity limit can be grasped by an average CPU load or the like. For example, in the case of Windows XP (registered trademark), considering the possibility of other processes moving in parallel, the average CPU usage rate is 30. It is desirable to suppress by around%. In this case, for example, when the simultaneous connection upper limit number = 5, the CPU usage rate = 25%, and when the simultaneous connection upper limit number = 6, the CPU usage rate = 35%, the simultaneous connection upper limit number = 5.

  Here, FIG. 16 shows the case where the simultaneous connection upper limit number of the device B is 6, but assuming that the change is started from the state of FIG. 9, for example, the simultaneous connection upper limit number of the device B is 5 as described above. When BF = 40 is known, the configuration of FIG. 16 cannot be obtained. However, from FIG. 9, the apparatus F is directly connected to B using the known BF = 40, and the topology of FIG. It is appropriate to select this, so that the maximum delay time and the average delay time can be reduced.

  As described above, by increasing the number of simultaneous connections and concentrating connections for devices with a large margin in the machine load, devices with no margin can avoid excessive loads and are fair and effective with the capabilities of each device. A topology can be realized, and it becomes easy to cope with an increase in the number of simultaneous participants and an increase in the volume of traffic for calls.

  Further, the simultaneous connection upper limit number for each device can be reflected in the determination of the connection destination of the device newly participating in the conference. In this case, when the topology determining unit 91 in the topology control unit 9 tries to join a new device to the conference, the number of connected devices is excluded from the simultaneous connection upper limit among the devices currently participating in the conference. The new device is connected to a device having a large number of empty spaces or a large percentage of empty spaces.

  In this way, by connecting a new device participating in the conference preferentially to a device with a sufficient number of connections, such as a low machine load, each device has an appropriate number of connections according to the capacity, and the call quality is improved. It becomes possible to improve.

[11. (Transfer of control right)
It is desirable to transfer the above-mentioned control right for specifying the authority and responsibility for topology control to an appropriate device among the devices participating in the conference. In this case, a predetermined condition determined in advance in the own device and the other device by the determination of the control right processing means 11 of the device having the control right or by the exchange of information between the control right processing means 11 of each device. Give control to the most advantageous device. As described above, by giving a control right to a device having advantageous conditions such as a connection state with another device and performing overall control of the topology and the like, the responsiveness of processing such as topology change can be improved.

  As an example of the predetermined condition as described above, the control right processing unit 11 gives priority to the control right in a device having a large number of connected devices (for example, the device B in FIGS. 5, 9, and 16). Hand over. In this way, by giving priority to devices that have a large number of connected devices, control is concentrated in a so-called star shape, reducing the number of hops, and meeting or topology under advantageous communication conditions. Control can be applied quickly and reliably, and the conference can proceed smoothly and comfortably.

  Another example of the predetermined condition in which the devices are compared to transfer the control right is a large simultaneous connection upper limit number, that is, a small machine load. As described above, by transferring the control right to a device having a large machine load and a large simultaneous connection upper limit (for example, the device 1 in FIG. 15), smooth transmission of call contents and topology control can be stably realized. .

  Furthermore, another example of the predetermined condition for comparing each device is that the average value of one or a plurality of types of evaluation values is the best (small) in connection between the device and another device. In this way, by passing the control right to the device having the best evaluation value in connection with other devices (for example, the device D in FIG. 9), the collection and control of information related to the conference such as the topology becomes stable and reliable.

  As a particularly preferable practical process, the control right processing means 11 assigns the inheritance order of the control right in advance in the order in which the predetermined condition is advantageous for each device participating in the conference, and the situation changes in the middle. Updating and transferring the control right according to the inheritance order when the device holding the control right leaves the conference.

  In this way, by allocating the inheritance order of control rights in advance, even if a device with the control rights unexpectedly leaves the conference due to a communication failure or the like, the control rights are inherited quickly and smoothly, and the conference and topology control The processing can be continued smoothly.

[12. (Temporary disconnection problem when changing topology)
In topology change by connection switching during a call, transmission of call contents such as voice and video during a call is temporarily interrupted during switching due to disconnection and reconnection. For example, when switching from the topology of FIG. 5 to the topology of FIG. 9, the connection destinations of the devices C, F, and G change, so that disconnection → reconnection occurs and transmission is temporarily interrupted.

  As a countermeasure to this problem, the topology is determined before the call is established based on the evaluation value obtained at the time of the previous connection, etc. held in advance or the evaluation value obtained before the call is established by SIP (call control). In this case, there is a merit that no disconnection occurs midway, but it is not possible to follow the dynamic change of the transmission environment. Therefore, in the present embodiment, adverse effects such as call disconnection due to switching are suppressed by detecting an appropriate timing while switching the topology at any time after the call is established.

  That is, in the topology control means 9, when the topology determination means 91 determines reconnection of connections between devices (topology determination processing), the timing detection means 92 detects the change timing by monitoring the call data in the conference. (Timing detection processing) When the timing is detected in this way, the change execution means 93 executes the contents of the reconnection determined by the topology determination means 91 (change execution processing).

  In this way, by monitoring the call data, detecting the appropriate timing and reconnecting, it is possible to smoothly optimize the topology without making participants aware of instantaneous interruptions or changes in the transmission state of voice etc. It becomes.

  Although a specific reference for detecting the timing is free, as an example, the timing detection unit 92 detects the change timing with a decrease exceeding a predetermined reference with respect to the amount of transmission traffic such as the amount of data and the number of packets. In this way, by adopting a simple standard of reducing the amount of transmission traffic, it becomes possible to quickly and surely detect the timing of a change such as the content of a call that has little influence on the conference, and to quickly execute a topology change.

  As a more detailed reference for detecting the timing, the timing detection unit 92 detects the change timing with the capture of the decrease exceeding the predetermined reference with respect to the meaningful traffic volume of the voice data. In this way, by reconnecting when the voice traffic volume decreases, that is, when there is a high possibility that the conversation is interrupted, disconnection of the words being spoken can be avoided, and topology optimization is performed inconspicuously at any time It becomes possible.

  Since each device synthesizes the sound from the other device and the sound of its own device, the level of the input sound from each device can be grasped. Specific criteria are free. For example, if the audio level from the device or all other devices falls below an absolute threshold for a certain period of time, the rate of decrease, the rate of decrease from before the decrease, and after the decrease The stability of the device, the elapsed time after the drop, a combination of these, etc. are used as a reference, and when that is the case, the connection destination of the device can be changed.

  As another reference, the timing detection unit 92 detects the timing of the change by capturing a significant traffic decrease of the moving image data. That is, the CODEC (encryption / decryption method) used for moving image transmission generally transmits mainly difference information between image frames, although depending on the type. It can be captured as a drop.

  In this way, by changing the topology when the amount of moving image data decreases, the video stills or the screen is disturbed at a bad timing, such as during presentations or during discussions. Disadvantages that can be easily avoided.

  It should be noted that the moving image is less sensitive to human detection for temporary interruption of transmission than audio, and there are few practical problems due to interruption of audio. Therefore, even when moving image transmission is involved, it is also effective to change the connection by detecting timing using only a reduction in the meaningful traffic of voice as a trigger.

[13. (Change of topology display and operation)
In addition to the topology change automatically performed as described above, the current topology may be displayed on the screen to accept a change operation. In this case, the GUI means 16 displays each device participating in the conference and a connection line indicating the connection between the devices in a positional relationship that is closer as the evaluation value corresponding to the connection between the devices is better and farther as it is inferior. To do. For example, the formats as shown in FIGS. 5 and 9 can be used for screen display as they are.

  Then, the GUI means 16 receives an instruction to reconnect the connection and transmits it to the topology control means 9 by dragging and dropping one end of the connection line with a pointing device on such a display screen (GUI processing). ).

  In this way, on a display screen of a communication device having a control right, the closer the devices are to each other, the shorter the connection line is, and the longer the evaluation value is, the longer the connection line is displayed. Since the connection can be instructed while easily grasping the connection status of the entire conference at a glance, the topology change based on the user's experience and knowledge can be freely tried at any time.

[14. Process integration with NAT traversal function)
When the communication apparatus of the present invention has not only the function of multipoint connection but also the function of NAT traversal (NAT traversal), it is desirable to integrate the processes of both functions. That is, the communication apparatus of the present invention has NAT transmission means for performing NAT traversal communication with the outside of the firewall of the LAN, implements each means by a process of a computer program, and exchanges information between different processes. When using internal transmission such as a shared memory, the multipoint connection means and the NAT transmission means are integrated and integrated as a single process.

  That is, in the communication apparatus of the present invention, even when there is no NAT transmission function, as shown in FIG. 18, the process P1 of the multipoint connection means (MCU) and the communication means (SIP UA) of the own apparatus (for example, A) During the process P3, there are already two internal transmissions as indicated by the arrows. In addition, as shown in FIG. 19, when there is a NAT transmission means process P2 inside the firewall, a total of eight internal transmissions exist and the processing load is high.

  Compared to the configuration of FIG. 19, as shown in FIG. 20, the process P1 of the multipoint connection means (MCU) and the process P2 of the NAT transmission means inside the firewall are integrated into a single process. The internal transmission can be reduced from 8 to 6 to 2 and the processing load can be greatly reduced.

  Thus, by integrating and integrating the processes of each function of multipoint connection and NAT transmission, internal transmission and processing load between them can be eliminated according to the number of connections. It becomes easy to expand.

[15. Example of NAT transmission means]
Here, the NAT transmission means on the inner side preferably communicates with NAT transmission means of other communication devices existing inside the other firewall from inside the firewall (for example, call control information such as outgoing / incoming requests by SIP, Tunneling is realized by mediating a call content data packet such as RTP) via a predetermined relay device (not shown) installed outside the firewall.

  In FIG. 19 to FIG. 21, the gray portion between the NAT transmitting means and the broken arrow indicate that communication with the communication means (SIP UA) of another device is transmitted through the NAT by tunneling or the like. In addition, the same communication exchanged by other communication devices existing in the same LAN may be transferred between the outside of the firewall.

  In this way, for a call with a communication device inside a different firewall, the conference according to the present invention goes beyond Symmetric NAT, which cannot be handled by STUN and UDP hole punching, by transmitting call control and voice packets via a relay device outside the firewall. Can be called.

  In addition, as another mechanism of the NAT transmission means, UDP communication such as RTP performed by the own apparatus is performed between the NAT transmission means of other communication apparatuses existing outside the firewall or inside another firewall. You may make it implement | achieve communication exceeding NAT by giving / receiving by simulated communication.

  In this way, with respect to UDP communication such as VoIP, transfer communication is performed by simulating TCP communication between devices provided on the inside and outside of the firewall, regardless of the type or setting of the firewall or NAT. On the side of the inter-connection function, NAT traversal can be performed easily and reliably without supporting a special protocol.

  In addition, although communication simulating TCP simulates a TCP session connection to a firewall by an IP header or the like, in practice, a delivery confirmation by a TCP-specific reception confirmation response (ACK), issuance of a retransmission request, Retransmission control and congestion control by response are not performed, and a packet in which a data part of UDP communication is recorded is forwarded and transferred.

[16. (Integration of calling means)
In addition to the processes P1 and P2 of the multipoint connection unit and the NAT transmission unit as described above, the process P3 of the call unit may be integrated and integrated as a single process. In this way, by integrating and integrating the process including the calling means, it is possible to eliminate the internal transmission between the calling means and the multi-conversion connection means and its processing load, and an information device having a limited CPU capability such as a PDA. The application of the present invention becomes easier.

The functional block diagram which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. The conceptual diagram which shows transmission of the content of a telephone call (voice | voice) in embodiment of this invention. The conceptual diagram which shows the consignment of the connection in embodiment of this invention. The conceptual diagram showing the topology of FIG. 3 in a different form. The figure which shows an example of the topology in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows known delay time in an example of the topology in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the choice of the improvement of a delay time in an example of the topology in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the state which performed the improvement by reconnection in an example of the topology in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the state after giving the improvement by reconnection in an example of the topology in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the other example of the topology in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the other example of the topology in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the other example of the topology in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the other example of the topology in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the other example of the topology in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the other example of the topology in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the other example of a topology change in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the other example of a topology change in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows internal transmission in the embodiment of this invention in the state without a NAT permeation | transmission means. The figure which shows internal transmission in the state with a NAT permeation | transmission means in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the state which integrated and integrated the process of the multipoint connection means and NAT permeation | transmission means in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the state which integrated the process of the call means further in the embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication apparatus 2 ... Call control means 3 ... Call means 4 ... Multipoint connection means 5 ... Conference control means 6 ... Call content transmission means 61 ... Reception means 62 ... Mixing means 63 ... Transmission means 7 ... Connection request means 8 ... Topology storage unit 9 ... topology control unit 91 ... topology determination unit 92 ... timing determination unit 93 ... change execution unit 11 ... control right processing unit 12 ... evaluation value acquisition unit 21 ... delay acquisition unit 22 ... jitter acquisition unit 23 ... loss rate acquisition Means 13 ... evaluation value storage means 14 ... load acquisition means 15 ... upper limit number control means

Claims (101)

A communication device that conducts a conference by connecting to other devices including other communication devices and exchanging the contents of a call,
Call control means for performing call control by a call control protocol;
Calling means for packetizing and sending transmission contents and receiving and restoring reproduction of received contents with the user of the own device;
A multipoint connection means for connecting a plurality of other devices using the call control means, and transmitting the contents of a call between the other devices and the own device,
A communication apparatus comprising: The multipoint connection means includes:
A plurality of connection ports for connecting to a plurality of other devices;
Using the connection port and the call control protocol, conference control means for controlling participation and leaving of the conference by connection for other devices;
Call content transmission means for transmitting a call content between a plurality of other devices and between each other device and the own device;
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The call content transmission means includes:
Receiving means for receiving transmission information representing the content of a call from a plurality of other connected devices;
For each other device, mixing means for generating composite sending information by mixing the sending information received by the receiving means from each other device except the other device and the sending information from the own device;
Transmitting means for transmitting the composite transmission information generated by the mixing means to a corresponding other device;
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The call content transmission means includes:
The receiving means and the transmitting means transmit and receive a weight number indicating how many pieces of transmission information of the composite transmission information is combined with the composite transmission information,
The communication according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mixing unit mixes transmission information from the own device and composite transmission information from another device at a ratio based on the number of weights. apparatus. If your device wants to add another new device to a conference that has already been connected to another communication device, connect the new device to another device already connected directly or indirectly to your device. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a connection request unit that makes a request. Topology storage means for storing the current topology between the devices participating in the conference;
6. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising topology control means for controlling an actual topology based on the topology stored in the topology storage means. Control right processing means for establishing control right at the start of the conference and transferring the control right to each other device participating in the conference,
The communication device according to claim 6, wherein the topology control unit controls the topology when the own device has the control right. Evaluation value acquisition means for acquiring a predetermined evaluation value representing the quality of the communication state and storing it in a predetermined evaluation value storage means for each device including its own device,
The communication according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the topology control means controls the topology so as to optimize a predetermined evaluation index based on the evaluation value stored in the evaluation value storage means. apparatus. The evaluation value acquisition means uses a delay time for each communication path between the devices as an evaluation value,
The communication device according to claim 8, wherein the topology control unit obtains the evaluation index based on the evaluation value. The evaluation value acquisition unit acquires an internal delay in each device, and stores it in the evaluation value storage unit as the evaluation value in addition to a delay time for each communication path between the devices. 9. The communication device according to 9. The evaluation value acquisition means uses the maximum or average jitter amount for each communication path between the devices as an evaluation value,
The communication device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the topology control unit uses a maximum value or an average value of the evaluation values as the evaluation index. The evaluation value acquisition means uses a packet loss rate as an evaluation value for each communication path between the devices,
The communication device according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the topology control unit uses a maximum value or an average value of the evaluation values as the evaluation index. The topology control means compares the superiority or inferiority of the devices that are not connected in the current topology stored in the topology storage means among the connections between the devices whose evaluation values are stored in the evaluation value storage means The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 12, further comprising topology determining means for determining a connection to be added to or reconnected to the current topology. When the topology control means tries to join a new device to the conference, the new device among the devices currently participating in the conference based on the evaluation value stored in the evaluation value storage means The communication device according to claim 8, wherein the communication device is connected to a device having the best connection evaluation value.   In the middle of the conference, the topology control means, for the evaluation value of the connection between the already established devices, by reconnecting with another connection path in which the evaluation value is stored in the evaluation value storage means, The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 14, wherein the reconnection is determined so that the evaluation value is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold and is greatly improved.   In the middle of the conference, the topology control means targets another connection whose evaluation value is the worst among the connections between the already established devices, and another connection route in which the evaluation value is stored in the evaluation value storage means The communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein reconnection that improves the evaluation value is determined by reconnection. The topology control means includes
For each device involved in the conference, it is determined whether or not they are in the same LAN, devices in the same LAN are connected in the same LAN, and one of the devices is connected to a device in another LAN via the WAN. The communication device according to any one of claims 6 to 16, wherein the communication device is connected. Load acquisition means for acquiring the machine load of the own device;
For the own device or other device, upper limit number control means for determining the simultaneous connection upper limit number based on the machine load acquired by the load acquisition means;
The communication apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: The topology control means, when trying to join a new device to the conference, among the devices currently participating in the conference, the ratio of the number of empty or the number of empty, excluding the number of already connected, from the simultaneous connection upper limit number The communication apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the new apparatus is connected to an apparatus having a large value. The communication according to any one of claims 7 to 19, wherein the control right processing means transfers the control right to a device having a predetermined condition that is most advantageous among its own device and another device. apparatus. 21. The communication apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the control right processing unit transfers the control right preferentially to a device having a large number of connected devices as the predetermined condition.   The communication apparatus according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the predetermined condition for each apparatus is a large number of the simultaneous connection upper limit numbers.   The predetermined condition for each device is that the average value of the evaluation values in the connection between the device and another device is the most excellent. Communication equipment. For each device participating in the conference, the control right processing means allocates the inheritance order of the control right in the order in which the predetermined condition is advantageous, and when the device holding the control right leaves the conference, The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein a control right is transferred according to the inheritance order. The topology control means includes
Topology determining means for determining reconnection of connections between devices;
When determining the reconnection of the connection between the devices by the topology determining means, timing detecting means for detecting the timing of the change by monitoring call data in the conference,
A change execution unit for executing the contents of the reconnection determined by the topology determination unit when the timing of the change is detected by the timing detection unit;
The communication device according to claim 6, wherein the communication device includes: 26. The communication apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the timing detection unit detects a change timing when a transmission traffic amount falls below a predetermined reference. 27. The communication apparatus according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the timing detection unit detects a change timing with a capture of a decrease exceeding a predetermined reference with respect to a meaningful traffic volume of voice data. The communication device according to any one of claims 25 to 27, wherein the timing detection unit detects a change timing by capturing a significant traffic decrease of moving image data.   Each device participating in the conference and a connection line representing the connection between the devices are displayed on a screen in a positional relationship that is farther away and farther as the evaluation value corresponding to the connection between the devices is superior, and one end of the connection line is displayed. The GUI unit according to any one of claims 8 to 28, further comprising a GUI unit that receives a command to reconnect the connection and transmits the command to the topology control unit by dragging and dropping with a pointing device. Communication device. NAT transmission means for performing NAT traversal communication with the outside of the LAN firewall,
The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 29, wherein the multipoint connection unit and the NAT transmission unit are realized by a process of a computer program, and information exchange between different processes is performed by internal transmission.
A communication apparatus characterized in that the multipoint connection means and the NAT transmission means are integrated and integrated as a single process. The NAT transmission means realizes tunneling by mediating communication with NAT transmission means of other communication devices existing inside other firewalls via a predetermined relay device installed outside the firewall from inside the firewall. The communication apparatus according to claim 30, wherein: The NAT transmission means exchanges UDP communication performed by its own device with communication that simulates TCP with NAT transmission means of another communication device existing outside the firewall or inside another firewall. 32. The communication apparatus according to claim 30, wherein communication beyond NAT is realized.   The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 30 to 32, wherein, in addition to the multipoint connection unit and the NAT transmission unit, the call unit is integrated and integrated as a single process.   34. A conference system, wherein a plurality of communication devices according to any one of claims 1 to 33 are combined via a communication network. A voice input / output unit, a communication unit with a communication network, and a computer control unit that performs information processing including control of each unit, and is connected to other devices including other communication devices to communicate call contents A control program for controlling a communication device that performs a conference by giving and receiving,
The control program controls the arithmetic control unit,
Call control processing for performing call control according to a call control protocol;
Call processing that performs packetization and transmission of transmission contents and reception and restoration reproduction of reception contents with the user of the own device;
While connecting to a plurality of other devices using the call control processing, multipoint connection processing for transmitting the contents of the call between the other devices and the own device,
A control program for a communication device, characterized in that: The multipoint connection process includes:
Conference control processing for controlling participation and leaving of the conference by connection for other devices using a plurality of connection ports for connecting to a plurality of other devices and the call control protocol;
Call content transmission processing for transmitting call content between a plurality of other devices and between each other device and the own device;
36. The communication apparatus control program according to claim 35, comprising: The call content transmission process includes:
A reception process for receiving transmission information representing the content of a call from a plurality of other connected devices;
For each other device, mixing processing for generating composite transmission information by mixing the transmission information received in the reception processing from each other device other than the other device and the transmission information from the own device;
A transmission process for transmitting the composite transmission information generated by the mixing process to a corresponding other device;
37. The communication apparatus control program according to claim 35 or 36, comprising: In the call content transmission process,
In the reception process and the transmission process, together with the composite transmission information, the composite transmission information is transmitted and received a weight number indicating how many pieces of transmission information the composite transmission information is combined with,
38. The communication according to any one of claims 35 to 37, wherein in the mixing process, transmission information from the own device and composite transmission information from another device are mixed at a ratio based on the weight number. Device control program. If your device wants to add another new device to a conference that has already been connected to another communication device, connect the new device to another device already connected directly or indirectly to your device. The communication device control program according to any one of claims 35 to 38, wherein the calculation control unit is caused to execute a requested connection request process. Store the current topology between the devices participating in the conference in a predetermined topology storage means,
The communication according to any one of claims 35 to 39, wherein the arithmetic control unit is caused to execute a topology control process for controlling an actual topology based on the topology stored in the topology storage means. Device control program. Establish control right at the start of the conference, and let the arithmetic control unit execute control right processing for passing the control right to and from other devices participating in the conference,
41. The communication device control program according to claim 40, wherein, in the topology control process, the topology is controlled when the own device has the control right. For each device including its own device, the calculation control unit is caused to execute an evaluation value acquisition process for acquiring a predetermined evaluation value representing the quality of the communication state and storing it in a predetermined evaluation value storage unit,
The communication according to claim 40 or 41, wherein in the topology control processing, the topology is controlled so as to optimize a predetermined evaluation index based on the evaluation value stored in the evaluation value storage means. Device control program. In the evaluation value acquisition process, let the delay time for each communication path between the devices be an evaluation value,
43. The communication apparatus control program according to claim 42, wherein in the topology control process, the evaluation index is obtained based on the evaluation value. The evaluation value acquiring process includes acquiring an internal delay in each device and storing the internal delay as the evaluation value in addition to a delay time for each communication path between the devices. 43. A control program for the communication device according to 43. In the evaluation value acquisition process, the maximum or average jitter amount for each communication path between the devices is set as an evaluation value,
45. The communication apparatus control program according to claim 42, wherein, in the topology control process, a maximum value or an average value of the evaluation values is used as the evaluation index. The evaluation value acquisition process uses a packet loss rate as an evaluation value for each communication path between devices,
46. The communication apparatus control program according to claim 42, wherein the topology control process uses a maximum value or an average value of the evaluation values as the evaluation index. The topology control processing compares the superiority or inferiority of the devices that are not connected in the current topology stored in the topology storage unit among the connections between the devices whose evaluation values are stored in the evaluation value storage unit 47. The communication apparatus control program according to claim 42, further comprising: topology determination processing for determining a connection to be added to or reconnected to the current topology. In the topology control process, when a new device is to participate in the conference, a new device is selected from the devices currently participating in the conference based on the evaluation value stored in the evaluation value storage means. 48. The communication device control program according to any one of claims 42 to 47, wherein the communication device is connected to a device having the best connection evaluation value. In the topology control process, for the evaluation value of the connection between the already established devices in the middle of the meeting, by reconnection by another connection route in which the evaluation value is stored in the evaluation value storage unit, The communication apparatus control program according to any one of claims 42 to 48, wherein reconnection is determined so that the evaluation value is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value and is greatly improved. In the topology control process, another connection route in which the evaluation value is stored in the evaluation value storage means for the connection having the worst evaluation value among the connections between the already established devices in the middle of the conference The control program for a communication apparatus according to any one of claims 42 to 49, wherein reconnection for improving the evaluation value by reconnection according to is determined. In the topology control process,
For each device involved in the conference, it is determined whether or not they are in the same LAN, devices in the same LAN are connected in the same LAN, and one of the devices is connected to a device in another LAN via the WAN. The communication apparatus control program according to any one of claims 40 to 50, wherein the communication apparatus is connected. Load acquisition processing for acquiring the machine load of the own device;
For the own device or other device, an upper limit number control process for determining the simultaneous connection upper limit number based on the machine load acquired in the load acquisition process;
52. The communication apparatus control program according to claim 40, wherein the calculation control unit is caused to execute. In the topology control process, when trying to join a new device to the conference, among the devices currently participating in the conference, the ratio of the number of vacant or the number of vacant, excluding the number of already connected, from the maximum number of simultaneous connections 53. The communication device control program according to any one of claims 40 to 52, wherein the new device is connected to a device having a large value. The communication according to any one of claims 41 to 53, wherein in the control right process, the control right is transferred to a device having a predetermined condition that is most advantageous among the own device and another device. Device control program. 55. The control program for a communication apparatus according to claim 54, wherein in the control right process, the control right is preferentially delivered to a device having a large number of connected devices as the predetermined condition. 56. The communication apparatus control program according to claim 54 or 55, wherein the predetermined condition for each apparatus is the number of simultaneous connection upper limit numbers. 57. The predetermined condition for each device is that an average value of the evaluation values in connection between the device and another device is the best. 57. Communication device control program. In the control right processing, for each device participating in the conference, the inheritance order of the control right is allocated in the order in which the predetermined condition is advantageous, and when the device holding the control right is disconnected from the conference, 58. The control program for a communication device according to any one of claims 54 to 57, wherein the control right is transferred according to the inheritance order. The topology control process is:
Topology determination processing for determining reconnection of connections between devices;
When determining the connection reconnection between the devices in the topology determination process, a timing detection process for detecting a change timing by monitoring call data in a conference;
A change execution process for executing the content of the reconnection determined in the topology determination process when the timing of the change is detected in the timing detection process;
59. The communication apparatus control program according to any one of claims 40 to 58, comprising: 60. The control program for a communication apparatus according to claim 59, wherein, in the timing detection process, the change timing is detected when the transmission traffic volume falls below a predetermined standard. 61. The control program for a communication apparatus according to claim 59, wherein in the timing detection process, the timing of change is detected by capturing a decrease exceeding a predetermined reference with respect to a significant traffic volume of voice data. The communication device control program according to any one of claims 59 to 61, wherein in the timing detection process, the timing of the change is detected by capturing a significant traffic decrease of the moving image data. Each device participating in the conference and a connection line representing the connection between the devices are displayed on a screen in a positional relationship that is farther away and farther as the evaluation value corresponding to the connection between the devices is superior, and one end of the connection line is displayed. 63. The calculation control unit is configured to cause the arithmetic control unit to execute a GUI process of accepting an instruction to reconnect the connection and transmitting it to the topology control process by dragging and dropping with a pointing device. The communication apparatus control program according to claim 1. Causing the arithmetic and control unit to execute NAT transmission processing for performing NAT traversal communication with the outside of the LAN firewall,
The communication device according to any one of claims 35 to 63, wherein the multipoint connection processing and the NAT transparent processing are realized by a process of a computer program, and information exchange between different processes is performed by internal transmission.
A control program for a communication apparatus, wherein the multipoint connection process and the NAT transparent process are integrated and integrated as a single process. In the NAT transparent processing, tunneling is realized by mediating communication with the NAT transparent processing of other communication devices existing inside the other firewall through a predetermined relay device installed outside the firewall. 65. The control program for a communication apparatus according to claim 64, wherein: In the NAT transparent processing, the UDP communication performed by its own device is exchanged with the NAT transparent processing of another communication device existing outside the firewall or inside another firewall by communication simulating TCP. 66. The communication apparatus control program according to claim 64 or 65, wherein communication beyond NAT is realized.   The communication apparatus control according to any one of claims 64 to 66, wherein, in addition to the multipoint connection process and the NAT transparent process, the call process is integrated and integrated as a single process. program. Communication that has a voice input / output unit, a communication unit with a communication network, and a control unit that controls each unit, and performs a conference by connecting to other devices including other communication devices and exchanging the contents of calls. A control method for controlling an apparatus, comprising:
Call control processing for performing call control according to a call control protocol;
Call processing that performs packetization and transmission of transmission contents and reception and restoration reproduction of reception contents with the user of the own device;
While connecting to a plurality of other devices using the call control processing, multipoint connection processing for transmitting the contents of the call between the other devices and the own device,
The control unit executes the communication device control method. The multipoint connection process includes:
Conference control processing for controlling participation and leaving of the conference by connection for other devices using a plurality of connection ports for connecting to a plurality of other devices and the call control protocol;
Call content transmission processing for transmitting call content between a plurality of other devices and between each other device and the own device;
69. The method of controlling a communication device according to claim 68, further comprising: The call content transmission process includes:
A reception process for receiving transmission information representing the content of a call from a plurality of other connected devices;
For each other device, mixing processing for generating composite transmission information by mixing the transmission information received in the reception processing from each other device other than the other device and the transmission information from the own device;
A transmission process for transmitting the composite transmission information generated by the mixing process to a corresponding other device;
70. The method of controlling a communication apparatus according to claim 68 or 69, further comprising: In the call content transmission process,
In the reception process and the transmission process, together with the composite transmission information, a number of weights indicating how many pieces of transmission information the composite transmission information is combined with is sent and received,
The communication according to any one of claims 68 to 70, wherein in the mixing processing, transmission information from the own device and composite transmission information from another device are mixed at a ratio based on the number of weights. Control method of the device. If your device wants to add another new device to a conference that has already been connected to another communication device, connect the new device to another device already connected directly or indirectly to your device. The method for controlling a communication device according to any one of claims 68 to 71, wherein the control unit executes a request for connection request. Store the current topology between the devices participating in the conference in a predetermined topology storage means,
The communication device according to any one of claims 68 to 72, wherein the control unit executes a topology control process for controlling an actual topology based on the topology stored in the topology storage unit. Control method. The control unit executes control right processing for establishing control right at the start of the conference and transferring the control right to each other device participating in the conference,
The communication device control method according to claim 73, wherein, in the topology control process, the topology is controlled when the own device has the control right. For each device including its own device, the control unit executes an evaluation value acquisition process for acquiring a predetermined evaluation value representing the quality of the communication state and storing it in a predetermined evaluation value storage unit,
75. The communication according to claim 73 or 74, wherein in the topology control process, the topology is controlled so as to optimize a predetermined evaluation index based on the evaluation value stored in the evaluation value storage means. Control method of the device. In the evaluation value acquisition process, the delay time for each communication path between the devices is an evaluation value,
The communication device control method according to claim 75, wherein, in the topology control process, the evaluation index is obtained based on the evaluation value. The evaluation value acquisition process includes acquiring an internal delay in each device and storing the internal delay as the evaluation value in addition to a delay time for each communication path between the devices. 76. A method for controlling a communication device according to 76. In the evaluation value acquisition process, the maximum or average jitter amount for each communication path between the devices is used as an evaluation value,
The communication device control method according to any one of claims 75 to 77, wherein, in the topology control process, a maximum value or an average value of the evaluation values is used as the evaluation index. The evaluation value acquisition process uses a packet loss rate as an evaluation value for each communication path between devices,
The communication device control method according to any one of claims 75 to 78, wherein the topology control processing uses a maximum value or an average value of the evaluation values as the evaluation index. The topology control processing compares the superiority or inferiority of the devices that are not connected in the current topology stored in the topology storage unit among the connections between the devices whose evaluation values are stored in the evaluation value storage unit 80. The communication apparatus control method according to claim 75, further comprising: topology determination processing for determining a connection to be added to or reconnected to the current topology. In the topology control process, when a new device is to participate in the conference, a new device is selected from the devices currently participating in the conference based on the evaluation value stored in the evaluation value storage means. The communication apparatus control method according to any one of claims 75 to 80, wherein the connection apparatus is connected to an apparatus having the best connection evaluation value. In the topology control process, for the evaluation value of the connection between the already established devices in the middle of the meeting, by reconnection by another connection route in which the evaluation value is stored in the evaluation value storage unit, 82. The communication apparatus control method according to any one of claims 75 to 81, wherein reconnection is determined so that the evaluation value is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold and is greatly improved. In the topology control process, another connection route in which the evaluation value is stored in the evaluation value storage means for the connection having the worst evaluation value among the connections between the already established devices in the middle of the conference 83. The communication apparatus control method according to any one of claims 75 to 82, wherein reconnection is determined such that the evaluation value is improved by reconnection according to claim 85. In the topology control process,
For each device involved in the conference, it is determined whether or not they are in the same LAN, devices in the same LAN are connected in the same LAN, and one of the devices is connected to a device in another LAN via the WAN. The communication device control method according to any one of claims 73 to 83, wherein the communication device is connected. Load acquisition processing for acquiring the machine load of the own device;
For the own device or other device, an upper limit number control process for determining the simultaneous connection upper limit number based on the machine load acquired in the load acquisition process;
85. The method of controlling a communication device according to claim 73, wherein the control unit executes the following. In the topology control process, when a new device is to participate in the conference, among the devices currently participating in the conference, the ratio of the number of vacant or the number of vacant, excluding the number of already connected, from the maximum number of simultaneous connections The communication apparatus control method according to any one of claims 73 to 85, wherein the new apparatus is connected to an apparatus having a large value. The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 74 to 86, wherein the control right process transfers the control right to an apparatus having a predetermined condition that is most advantageous among the own apparatus and another apparatus. Control method. 88. The method of controlling a communication apparatus according to claim 87, wherein in the control right process, the control right is preferentially transferred to a device having a large number of connected devices as the predetermined condition. 89. The communication device control method according to claim 87 or 88, wherein the predetermined condition for each device is a large number of the simultaneous connection upper limit numbers. The predetermined condition for each device is that the average value of the evaluation values in the connection between the device and another device is the best. The method according to any one of claims 87 to 89, wherein: Method for controlling a communication apparatus. The control right processing assigns the inheritance order of the control right to each device participating in the conference in the order in which the predetermined condition is advantageous, and when the device holding the control right leaves the conference, The method for controlling a communication device according to any one of claims 87 to 90, wherein the control right is transferred in accordance with the inheritance order. The topology control process is:
Topology determination processing for determining reconnection of connections between devices;
When determining the connection reconnection between the devices in the topology determination process, a timing detection process for detecting a change timing by monitoring call data in a conference;
A change execution process for executing the content of the reconnection determined in the topology determination process when the timing of the change is detected in the timing detection process;
92. The method of controlling a communication device according to any one of claims 73 to 91, comprising: 95. The communication apparatus control method according to claim 92, wherein the timing detection process detects a change timing when a transmission traffic amount falls below a predetermined reference. 94. The communication device control method according to claim 92 or 93, wherein the timing detection process detects a change timing with a capture of a decrease exceeding a predetermined reference with respect to a meaningful traffic volume of voice data. 95. The method of controlling a communication apparatus according to claim 92, wherein the timing detection process detects a change timing by capturing a significant traffic decrease of moving image data. Each device participating in the conference and a connection line representing the connection between the devices are displayed on a screen in a positional relationship that is farther away and farther as the evaluation value corresponding to the connection between the devices is superior, and one end of the connection line is displayed. 96. The control unit executes a GUI process that accepts an instruction to reconnect the connection and transmits it to the topology control process by a drag-and-drop operation with a pointing device. The communication device control method according to one item. The control unit executes NAT transparent processing for performing NAT traversal communication with the outside of the LAN firewall,
The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 68 to 96, wherein the multipoint connection process and the NAT transparent process are realized by a process of a computer program, and information exchange between different processes is performed by internal transmission.
The communication device control method, wherein the multipoint connection process and the NAT transparent process are integrated and integrated as a single process. The NAT transparent processing realizes tunneling by mediating communication with the NAT transparent processing of other communication devices existing inside the other firewall through a predetermined relay device installed outside the firewall. 98. The communication device control method according to claim 97, wherein: The NAT transparent processing is performed by exchanging the UDP communication performed by the own device with the NAT transparent processing of another communication device existing outside the firewall or inside another firewall by communication simulating TCP. The communication apparatus control method according to claim 97 or 98, wherein communication beyond NAT is realized.   The communication apparatus control according to any one of claims 97 to 99, wherein, in addition to the multipoint connection process and the NAT transparent process, the call process is integrated and integrated as a single process. Method.   101. A control method for a conference system, comprising combining a plurality of communication device control methods according to any one of claims 68 to 100 via a communication network.

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