JP2012169972A - Communication environment control device and communication environment control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication environment control device that can reduce ambient noise while suppressing power consumption.SOLUTION: A communication environment control device 500 controlling environment of communication between a first terminal device and a second terminal device comprises: an apparatus state acquisition part 503 specifying an electrical apparatus existing around the first terminal device; a network input/output part 501 connecting to a route of communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; a call information acquisition part 502 which monitors communication data transmitted on the route from the second terminal device to the first terminal device, and acquires a request for reducing ambient noise when the request is included in the communication data; and a control information generation part 506 which makes the electrical apparatus existing around the first terminal device stop its action or reduce its action level, under the condition that the request is acquired.

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication environment control device and a communication environment control method for controlling a communication environment between terminal devices. In particular, the present invention relates to a communication environment control device and a communication environment control method for controlling a communication environment between terminal devices having a video / audio communication function via a network.

  In recent years, terminal devices having a communication function by data transmission via a network have become widespread due to enhancement of network infrastructure and development of digital encoding technology of video / audio. In particular, a device (hereinafter referred to as a “VC terminal”) that enables two-way communication (hereinafter referred to as “VC” as appropriate) such as a conversation and a conference by mutually transmitting a speaker's video and audio to and from other terminal devices. ")" Is spreading.

  The VC terminal includes an audio input device such as a microphone and an audio output device such as a speaker. The first user's VC terminal receives the voice of the first user as input, converts it into voice data, and transmits the voice data to the second user's VC terminal as the communication partner. The VC terminal of the second user converts the received voice data into voice, and reproduces and outputs the original voice of the first user. As a result, the second user can hear the voice of the first user.

  However, if there is an electrical device that emits relatively loud operation sounds or sounds, such as an air conditioner or a TV, around the first user's VC terminal, the sound becomes noise and the first user's speech can be heard well. There may not be. Hereinafter, sounds generated by the surrounding electrical devices during operation are referred to as “ambient noise”.

  Therefore, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for performing noise removal processing on audio data in a VC terminal on a voice input side (hereinafter referred to as “own-station-side VC terminal”).

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, signal processing is performed on voice data of input voice within the VC terminal of the local station, and ambient noise is estimated and separated from speech voice. As signal processing, various general noise removal techniques such as spectral subtraction can be used. The spectral subtraction method is a technique for removing a noise component by subtracting a stationary noise spectrum after decomposing an input speech into frequency components based on a difference in signal characteristics between a speech voice and stationary noise.

  According to such a conventional technique, the ambient noise of the own-site VC terminal is reduced in a pseudo manner, and the speech data is received with high quality in the VC terminal on the audio data receiving side (hereinafter referred to as “game-side VC terminal”). Can be played.

  By the way, most of the commonly used VC terminals take the form of small mobile terminals such as mobile phones. Since such a mobile terminal is normally battery-powered, it is required to operate with as low power consumption as possible.

JP-A-10-171497

  However, the conventional technology has to continuously monitor ambient noise, and when ambient noise is detected, signal processing for noise removal is performed, which makes it difficult to reduce power consumption. There is.

  In addition, when the VC terminal exchanges a captured image using a camera or the like, light from a lighting fixture or a TV screen around the VC terminal on the local station is backlit, and the video of the first user is seen on the opposite VC terminal side. It can be spicy. Although it is conceivable to apply the prior art to countermeasures against such optical noise (also referred to as “ambient noise” hereinafter), there is still a problem that it is difficult to suppress power consumption.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a communication environment control apparatus and a communication environment control method that can reduce ambient noise while suppressing power consumption.

  A communication environment control device according to the present invention is a communication environment control device that controls a communication environment between a first terminal device and a second terminal device, and is an electrical device that exists around the first terminal device. A device status acquisition unit for identifying a device, a network input / output unit connected to the communication path between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and the second terminal device on the path The communication data transmitted from the first terminal device to the first terminal device, and when the communication data includes a request to reduce ambient noise, the call information acquisition unit that acquires the request, and the request is acquired. And a control information generation unit that stops the operation of the electrical equipment existing around the first terminal device or reduces the operation level thereof.

  The communication environment control method of the present invention is a communication environment control method for controlling an environment of communication between a first terminal device and a second terminal device, and an electrical environment existing around the first terminal device. Connecting to the communication path between the first terminal apparatus and the second terminal apparatus, and specifying the device on the path from the second terminal apparatus to the first terminal apparatus; Monitoring the transmitted communication data, obtaining the request when the communication data includes a request to reduce ambient noise, and the first terminal on the condition that the request has been acquired. Stopping the operation of the electrical equipment existing around the apparatus or reducing the operation level thereof.

  According to the present invention, ambient noise can be reduced while power consumption is suppressed.

The system block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the communication system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. A block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a VC terminal in the first embodiment The block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the VC high quality control apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment 1. The figure which shows an example of the content of the call control information in this Embodiment 1 The figure which shows an example of the content of the apparatus state information in this Embodiment 1 The figure which shows an example of the content of the noise tendency information in this Embodiment 1. Schematic diagram showing the flow of communication between VC terminals in the first embodiment The figure which shows an example of a structure of the call information in this Embodiment 1. The flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the VC high quality control apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment 1. Flowchart showing an example of new state determination and peripheral device control processing in the first embodiment The figure which shows an example of the calculation result of the apparatus state change number in this Embodiment 1, and a noise index change amount The block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the VC high quality control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the content of the noise tendency information in this Embodiment 2. The figure which shows an example of the content of the apparatus control attribute information in this Embodiment 2. Flowchart showing an example of new state determination and peripheral device control processing in the second embodiment The figure which shows an example of the calculation result of the penalty frequency and the noise figure variation | change_quantity in this Embodiment 2. The block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the VC high quality control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. The flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the VC high quality control apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment 3. The flowchart which shows an example of the user apparatus operation monitoring process in this Embodiment 3. The figure which shows an example of the content of the apparatus control attribute information in this Embodiment 3.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a communication system including a VC high quality control device as a communication environment control device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  The communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is an interactive video / audio system between a first user who lives in the first house 200-1 and a second user who lives in the second house 200-2. This is a system that enables communication (VC).

  In the communication system 100, a local router 210-1 connected to an external network 300 such as the Internet is laid in the first house 200-1. Furthermore, the local station LAN 220-1 such as a wireless LAN (local area network) connected to the local station router 210-1 is laid in the first house 200-1. Similarly, in the second house 200-2, a game router 210-2 connected to the external network 300 and a game LAN 220-2 connected thereto are laid.

  The local station VC terminal 400-1 carried by the first user is a mobile information communication terminal, which is connected to the local station LAN 220-1, and is connected to the external network 300 via the local station router 210-1. . Further, the game-side VC terminal 400-2 carried by the second user is a mobile information communication terminal, which is connected to the game-side LAN 220-2 and connected to the external network 300 via the game-side router 210-2. That is, the local station VC terminal 400-1 and the opposite router 210-2 can communicate via the external network 300.

  Further, in the first house 200-1, there are first to third devices 231 to 233 as electrical devices (hereinafter referred to as “peripheral devices”) existing around the VC terminal 400-1 on the local station side. It shall be. The first to third devices 231 to 233 are, for example, air conditioners in a room where the first user is present.

  Here, the first and second devices 231 and 232 are connected to a home device network 240 such as a PLC (power line communication) network. The home device network 240 is connected to the local station LAN 220-1 via the home device control management device 250, which is a gateway device. That is, it is assumed that the first and second devices 231 and 232 are indirectly connected to the local LAN 220-1 via the home device control management device 250. The home appliance control management apparatus 250 has a function for managing and controlling the operating states of the first and second equipments 231 and 232 in addition to the gateway function focused on in the present embodiment. You may have. The third device 233 is directly connected to the local station LAN 220-1.

  Further, the communication system 100 includes a VC high quality control device 500 which is a communication environment control device according to the present invention.

  The VC high-quality control device 500 is connected to the local station LAN 220-1, and can monitor communication between the local station LAN 220-1 and the local LAN 220-2. Further, the VC high quality control device 500 can communicate with the first to third devices 231 to 233 via the local station LAN 220-1 and the home device network 240.

  The VC high quality control device 500 specifies that the peripheral devices of the local station VC terminal 400-1 are the first to third devices 231 to 233. The opposite VC terminal 400-2 sends a request to reduce ambient noise (hereinafter simply referred to as “ambient noise”) of the input voice of the own VC terminal 400-1 to the own VC terminal 400-1. At this time, the VC upgrading control device 500 monitors the local station LAN 220-1 and acquires a reduction request from the opposite VC terminal 400-2. And the VC high quality control apparatus 500 stops the operation | movement of the 1st-3rd apparatus 231-233 which is a periphery apparatus of the local station VC terminal 400-1 on the condition that this request | requirement was acquired.

  In the present embodiment, local station VC terminal 400-1 and opposite VC terminal 400-2 input audio and captured video, and transmit the input audio and captured video data to a communication partner. Suppose that Also, the local station VC terminal 400-1 and the local VC terminal 400-2 are devices that reproduce and output audio and captured video from data received from a communication partner.

  Further, the ambient noise in the present embodiment is hereinafter referred to as a sound generated by the peripheral device of the local station VC terminal 400-1 during its operation. Therefore, it is assumed that the request monitored by the VC high-quality control device 500 and acquired from the game-side VC terminal 400-2 is a request to reduce sound emitted from the peripheral devices of the own-site VC terminal 400-1. .

  In the present embodiment, the game-side VC terminal 400-2 includes a message indicating a request for reducing ambient noise in the call control information transmitted to the communication partner, triggered by a predetermined operation such as pressing a button. Shall. That is, the game-side VC terminal 400-2 transmits a noise reduction request every time the second user makes an intention to hear the first user's utterance voice due to ambient noise.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that local station LAN 220-1 and in-home device network 240 (hereinafter, collectively referred to as “in-home network” as appropriate) are laid in a certain room. Therefore, in this embodiment, VC high-quality control apparatus 500 has its own VC terminal 400-1 and first to third devices 231 to 233 connected to the home network. With this, it is assumed that the VC upgrading control device 500 determines that the first to third devices 231 to 233 exist around the VC terminal 400-1 on the local station side.

  Further, the first to third devices 231 to 233 have a function of returning a response message in response to an inquiry message broadcast to the home network. Also, the first to third devices 231 to 233 have a function of changing their own operation state in accordance with control information sent via the home network. That is, the first to third devices 231 to 233 can make inquiries and control from the VC high-quality control device 500. These functions can be realized by a general control protocol such as SIP (session initiation protocol).

  In such a communication system 100, the operation of the peripheral device can be stopped by the VC high-quality control device 500 at the timing when the ambient noise should be reduced. Therefore, the communication system 100 can reduce the ambient noise of the local station VC terminal 400-1 without monitoring ambient noise for the audio data and performing signal processing for reducing the ambient noise.

  Next, the configuration of the local station side VC terminal 400-1 and the opposite side VC terminal 400-2 and the configuration of the VC high quality control device 500 will be described. Since the local station VC terminal 400-1 and the opposite VC terminal 400-2 have the same configuration, the configuration will be described collectively as “VC terminal 400”. Further, the local LAN 220-1 or the local LAN 220-2 corresponding to the VC terminal 400 being described will be described as “LAN 220”. Then, the local router 210-1 or the local router 210-2 corresponding to the VC terminal 400 being described will be described as “router 210”.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the VC terminal 400.

  2, a VC terminal 400 includes a network input / output unit 401, a session control unit 402, a stream transmission / reception unit 403, a video codec processing unit 405 and an audio codec processing unit 406 as a codec (codec: coder / decoder) processing unit 404, The audio output unit 407, the audio input unit 408, the operation input unit 410, the screen generation unit 411, the video input unit 412, the video synthesis unit 413, and the video output unit 414 are provided.

  The network input / output unit 401 is a network interface that is communicably connected to the LAN 220.

  The session control unit 402 exchanges control data with a communication partner via the network input / output unit 401 and controls a session with the communication partner. The control data includes control information related to the VC function, such as a control request at the start of a call and an acknowledgment of the request, and capability information for confirming the connection possibility with the communication partner. This control information can be a standardized protocol such as SIP (session initiation protocol: RFC3261) or a control character string defined for each application service. In addition, a standardized protocol can be used as a communication protocol for transmitting and receiving control data. The communication protocol is, for example, TCP (transmission control protocol: RFC793) / IP (internet protocol: RFC791).

  The session control unit 402 generates call information including a noise reduction request and transmits it to the communication partner when a predetermined operation is performed in an operation input unit 410 described later. The predetermined operation is an operation notified to the user as an operation to be performed when it is desired to issue a noise reduction request. For example, the predetermined operation is pressing a predetermined button.

  The stream transmission / reception unit 403 exchanges video / audio data with a communication partner via the network input / output unit 401 to realize a call during session establishment. The video / audio data takes the form of streaming data, for example. As a transmission protocol for performing streaming reproduction, for example, a standardized protocol such as RTP (real-time transport protocol: RFC3550) can be used. The transmission protocol for performing streaming reproduction may be a protocol having a control structure defined for each application. In addition, a standardized protocol can be used as a communication protocol for transmitting and receiving video / audio data. The communication protocol is, for example, UDP (user datagram protocol: RFC768) / IP.

  In response to a control request input from the session control unit 402 or the like, the codec processing unit 404 performs encoding processing of video data and audio data to be transmitted and decoding processing of the received encoded data.

  The video codec processing unit 405 is responsible for codec processing related to video data in the codec processing unit 404. The video codec method to be used is determined by the session control unit 402 based on the exchange of capability information with the communication partner. As a video codec system to be used, a standardized video encoding system can be used. The video codec is, for example, MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) 4 Part 2 (ISO / IEC 14496-2) or ITU-T H.264.

  The audio codec processing unit 406 is responsible for codec processing related to audio data in the codec processing unit 404. The method of the audio codec to be used is determined by the session control unit 402 based on the exchange of capability information with the communication partner. As a method of the audio codec used, a standardized audio encoding format can be used. The audio codec is, for example, AMR-NB (adaptive multi-rate narrow band), MPEG-2 AAC (advanced audio codec) (ISO / IEC 13818-7), or the like.

  The audio output unit 407 is, for example, a speaker, and reproduces and outputs the audio input by the communication partner based on the audio data decoded by the audio codec processing unit 406.

  The voice input unit 408 is a microphone, for example, and inputs voice and converts it into voice data.

  The operation input unit 410 is a touch panel, for example, and receives an operation on the VC terminal 400 from the user.

  The screen generation unit 411 generates necessary UI (user interface) graphics in response to a user operation or a control request from a communication partner.

  The video input unit 412 has, for example, a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensor, inputs a user's video, and converts it into video data.

  The video synthesis unit 413 performs synthesis processing on the video data decoded by the video codec processing unit 405, the video data input by the video input unit 412, and the UI graphics generated by the screen generation unit 411.

  The video output unit 414 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and outputs the video synthesized by the video synthesis unit 413.

  Such a VC terminal 400 can exchange photographed video and input audio with a communication partner, and enables bidirectional communication using video and audio between both users. Further, the VC terminal 400 can issue a noise reduction request in response to a predetermined operation by the user.

  Although description is omitted in the present embodiment, the VC terminal 400 is a directory server having a communication partner discovery function and search function on the network 415, a registration function and a search function of other VC terminals 400, and the like. It can take the form.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the VC high-quality control device 500.

  In FIG. 3, the VC upgrading control device 500 includes a network input / output unit 501, a call information acquisition unit 502, a device state acquisition unit 503, a noise tendency information storage unit 504, a control determination unit 505, and a control information generation unit 506. Have.

  The network input / output unit 501 is a network interface that is communicably connected to the LAN 220. That is, the network input / output unit 501 is connected to a communication path (here, the local station LAN 220-1) between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. In the present embodiment, the first terminal device refers to the own-station-side VC terminal 400-1 that is the transmission destination of the noise reduction request. The second terminal device refers to the game-side VC terminal 400-2 that is the transmission source of the noise reduction request.

  The call information acquisition unit 502 extracts call information transmitted over the LAN (here, the local station LAN 220-1) to which the VC high quality control device 500 is connected via the network input / output unit 501. Then, the call information acquisition unit 502 generates and holds call state information of the LAN (here, the local station LAN 220-1) to which the VC high quality control device 500 is connected from the extracted call information. The call state information is information indicating the current call state of the VC terminal 400 (here, the local-side VC terminal 400-1) connected to the LAN.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the content of the call control information.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the call state information 610 describes the address 612 and the VC state 613 of the VC terminal 400 in association with the ID (hereinafter referred to as “VC terminal ID”) 611 of the VC terminal 400. The address 612 is a network address for the VC terminal 400 to access the local LAN 220-1, the external network 300, and the local LAN 220-2 (hereinafter collectively referred to as “communication network” as appropriate). The VC state 613 is a status of the VC function of the VC terminal 400.

  For example, the call state information 610 describes a VC terminal ID 611 of “VC1”, an address 612 of “192.000.000.000”, and a VC state 613 of “CONNECTED, NC = OFF”. This call status information 610 is only available for the terminal that has the VC terminal 400 that is in direct contact with the local LAN 220-1 as the ID of “VC1” and the network address of “192.000.000.000” (here, This is the local station VC terminal 400-1). Further, since this VC state 613 is currently “CONNECTED”, it indicates that the VC terminal 400 is communicating. Further, since the VC state 613 is “NC = OFF”, it indicates that the sound noise suppression function is in the OFF state.

  Furthermore, the call information acquisition unit 502 extracts a request for reduction of ambient noise issued from the game-side VC terminal 400-2 via the network input / output unit 501. More specifically, the call information acquisition unit 502 transmits a first terminal device (here, the local station side VC terminal 400-) from the second terminal device (here, the opposite side VC terminal 400-2) on the above-described route. The communication data transmitted to 1) is monitored. When the communication data includes a noise reduction request, the call information acquisition unit 502 acquires (extracts) the request. The call information acquisition unit 502 notifies the control determination unit 505 of this every time a noise reduction request is acquired. Details of call information extraction and noise reduction request acquisition will be described later.

  The device state acquisition unit 503 specifies the VC terminal 400 that can be a target for reducing ambient noise. More specifically, the device state acquisition unit 503 refers to the call state information held by the call information acquisition unit 502 (see FIG. 4) and communicates on the LAN to which the VC high-quality control device 500 is connected. The VC terminal 400 that is performing is identified. Here, the local station VC terminal 400-1 corresponding to “VC1” is identified from the call state information. Then, the device state acquisition unit 503 specifies the peripheral devices (here, the first to third devices 231 to 233) of the specified VC terminal 400 via the network input / output unit 501. Furthermore, the device state acquisition unit 503 acquires the current operation state of each peripheral device (hereinafter referred to as “current operation state”) via the network input / output unit 501 and holds the acquired current operation state. Details of specifying peripheral devices and acquiring the current operating state will be described later.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the contents of the device state information.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the device state information 620 is associated with an ID (hereinafter referred to as “device ID”) 621 as an electric device of a peripheral device (here, the first to third devices 231 to 233), The current operating state 622 of the electrical device is described.

  For example, the device status information 620 is described as “power ON, volume 15”, “power OFF”, and “power ON” in order in association with the device IDs 621 “M1”, “M2”, and “M3”. Yes. The device status information 620 is an electrical device (here, the first to third devices 231 to 231) whose peripheral devices of the local station VC terminal 400-1 have “M1”, “M2”, and “M3” as device IDs. 233). In addition, the device status information 620 indicates that the electric device with the device ID “M1” is turned on, the volume is “15”, the electric device with the device ID “M2” is not turned on, and , Indicates that the electric device with the device ID “M3” is turned on.

  The noise tendency information storage unit 504 stores noise tendency information. The noise trend information describes a plurality of ambient state information that defines the operating state of each electrical device (including surrounding devices) with different contents, and the ambient device operating state and ambient noise generation indicated by the ambient state information It is information that describes the trend of correspondence.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the content of noise tendency information.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the noise tendency information 630 is associated with a state name 631 that is identification information of the surrounding state information for each surrounding state information, and a set of a device ID 632 and an operating state 633, and a noise index 634. Is described. The noise index is an estimated value of the level of ambient noise when each electric device is operated in a corresponding operation state.

  For example, the noise tendency information 630 describes the operation state 633 in order in association with the device IDs 632 “M1”, “M2”, and “M3” in the surrounding state information of the state name 631 “state A”. ing. As the operation state, “power ON”, “power OFF”, and “power ON” are described in order. That is, in “state A”, a state is defined in which the power sources of the electrical devices (here, the first and third devices 231 and 233) having device IDs “M1” and “M3” are ON. In “state A”, a state is defined in which the power supply of the electric device (here, the second device 232) having “M2” as the device ID is OFF.

  The noise tendency information 630 describes a noise index 634 of “13” in association with the surrounding state information of the state name 631 of “state A”. This noise tendency information 630 indicates that the noise figure is “13” in the above-mentioned “state A”.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the noise index is sequentially updated by a control determination unit 505 described later. However, the noise figure may be a fixed value.

  The control determination unit 505 acquires, for each noise reduction request target (here, the local station VC terminal 400-1), the number of receptions of the noise reduction request as a required level for reducing ambient noise. In addition, the control determination unit 505 refers to the device state information (see FIG. 5) held by the device state acquisition unit 503 and acquires the current operation state of the peripheral devices. The control determination unit 505 refers to the noise tendency information (see FIG. 6) stored in the noise tendency information storage unit 504, and selects the ambient state information according to the request level and the current operation state. That is, the control determination unit 505 determines specific control contents of peripheral devices for realizing high-quality VC. Then, the control determination unit 505 notifies the control information generation unit 506 of the set of the device ID and the operation state specified by the selected ambient state information. Details of selection of the ambient state information based on the request level and the current operation state will be described later.

  In addition, the control determination unit 505 sets the noise index of the noise tendency information stored in the noise tendency information storage unit 504 based on the combination of the operation states of the electric devices and the request level acquired in the combination of the operation states. To do. The control determination unit 505 in the present embodiment counts the number of receptions of the noise reduction request while the combination continues for each combination of operation states, and updates the noise trend information using the count value as a noise index. Shall. That is, in the present embodiment, the noise index indicates the frequency at which a noise reduction request is issued in the corresponding operating state. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it can be said that the higher the noise index, the higher the possibility that ambient noise inhibits communication.

  Each time the control information generation unit 506 is notified of a set of a device ID and an operation state from the control determination unit 505, control information for changing the operation state of the electrical device indicated by the device ID to the operation state. Generate. Then, the control information generation unit 506 transmits the generated control information to the target peripheral device via the network input / output unit 501.

  The VC high-quality control apparatus 500 includes, for example, a CPU (central processing unit), a storage medium such as a ROM (read only memory) storing a control program, and a working memory such as a RAM (random access memory). . In this case, the function of each unit described above is realized by the CPU executing the control program.

  Such a VC high-quality control device 500 specifies the peripheral device of the local station VC terminal 400-1 and obtains (extracts) a request to reduce ambient noise from the local LAN 220-2. The operation of surrounding devices can be stopped. Thereby, the VC high quality control device 500 can reduce the ambient noise of the local station VC terminal 400-1 without monitoring ambient noise for the audio data and performing signal processing for reducing the ambient noise. That is, the VC high-quality control apparatus 500 can reduce ambient noise while suppressing power consumption.

  Further, the VC high-quality control device 500 dynamically changes the noise index according to the required level of noise reduction, and controls the operation of the peripheral devices based on the noise index. Therefore, the VC high-quality control device 500 can realize control reflecting a noise tendency in accordance with the surrounding environment.

  Here, a state of communication performed between the local station VC terminal 400-1 and the opposite VC terminal 400-2 will be briefly described.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a communication flow between the local station VC terminal 400-1 and the opposite VC terminal 400-2 and an outline of the communication data.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, for example, it is assumed that the first user performs an operation of making a call to the second user on the VC terminal 400-1 on the local station side. Then, the local station VC terminal 400-1 transmits call information to the opposite VC terminal 400-2 (S1100). The call information includes a communication start request (INVITE), transmission source and destination IDs (from VC1 to VC2), audio codec method and video codec method (A = AMR, V = MPEG4V). Call information is stored in communication data and transmitted / received.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of communication data when call information is included in the communication data according to the present embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 8, the communication data 710 includes communication header information 711 and a communication data body 712. The communication header information 711 includes communication source information 713 and communication destination information 714. The communication source information 713 is information relating to a communication source (a transmission source of the communication data 710) such as a communication source address. The communication destination information 714 is information regarding a communication destination (a destination of the communication data 710) such as a communication destination address.

  The call information 720 is stored in the communication data body 712. The call information 720 includes request information and status information 721, header information 722, and a message body 723.

  The request information and status information 721 indicate, for example, “INVITE” indicating a communication start request, “ACK” indicating communication start establishment, “BYE” indicating communication end notification, “MESSAGE” indicating information notification, and in-call notification. “180 RINGING” and “200 OK” indicating an acknowledgment. The header information 722 is information about the message, such as a message transmission source and a destination. The message body 723 is, for example, body information relating to a request or status. In particular, the message body of the present embodiment includes “REQ for audio NR” which is a noise reduction request.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the game-side VC terminal 400-2 enters a calling state, and returns call information including a calling notification and a voice codec method and a video codec method (S1200). As a result, the own-station-side VC terminal 400-1 enters a partner waiting state. Then, when the second user presses the call button, the game-side VC terminal 400-2 transmits call information including an acknowledgment notice (200 OK) (S1300). In response to this, when the local station VC terminal 400-1 returns call information including communication start establishment (ACK) (S1400), the local station VC terminal 400-1 and the opposite VC terminal 400-2 are busy. Become.

  Here, it is assumed that the second user feels that the speech of the first user is difficult to hear due to the ambient noise, and has performed a predetermined operation for requesting a reduction in the ambient noise. Then, the opposite VC terminal 400-2 transmits call information including a noise reduction request (REQ for audio NR) to the own VC terminal 400-1 (S1500).

  Then, it is assumed that the first user performs an operation to hang up the phone at the local station VC terminal 400-1. Then, the local station VC terminal 400-1 transmits call information including a communication end notification (BYE) to the competitive VC terminal 400-2 (S1600). In response to this, the game-side VC terminal 400-2 performs a process of hanging up the telephone, and returns call information including an acknowledgment notice (200 OK) (S1700). As a result, the local station VC terminal 400-1 and the opposite VC terminal 400-2 return to the standby state.

  As described above, a plurality of pieces of call information are exchanged between the start of the call and the end of the call between the local station VC terminal 400-1 and the opposite VC terminal 400-2. Then, when it is difficult for the second user to hear the voice of the first user due to ambient noise, call information including a noise reduction request is transmitted (S1500). The VC high quality control device 500 extracts a noise reduction request from the call information transmitted to the local station VC terminal 400-1 on the local station LAN 220-1, and performs processing for noise reduction. become.

  Next, the operation of the VC high quality control device 500 will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the VC high quality control device 500.

  First, in step S2100, the network input / output unit 501 determines whether communication data (see FIG. 8) transmitted on the local station LAN 220-1 has been detected. Specifically, the network input / output unit 501 temporarily stores data arrival by interrupt processing associated with the arrival of communication data, and determines detection based on this information. At this time, the network input / output unit 501 refers to the communication destination information included in the communication data, and determines that the communication data not destined for the local LAN 220-1 is not detected. Also good.

  If the network input / output unit 501 has not detected communication data transmitted on the local station LAN 220-1 (S2100: NO), the network input / output unit 501 proceeds to step S2700 described later. In addition, when the network input / output unit 501 detects communication data transmitted on the local LAN 220-1 (S2100: YES), the network input / output unit 501 acquires the detected communication data and outputs it to the call information acquisition unit 502. The process proceeds to step S2200.

  In step S2200, call information acquisition section 502 determines whether or not the input communication data includes call information. Specifically, the call information acquisition unit 502 refers to the communication data body of the input communication data and determines whether the data structure of the call information (see FIG. 8) is configured. More specifically, the determination is made based on whether or not request information / status information is included at the head of the communication data body. If the communication data does not include call information (S2200: NO), the call information acquisition unit 502 proceeds to step S2700 described later. If the communication data includes call information (S2200: YES), the call information acquisition unit 502 proceeds to step S2300.

  In step S2300, the call information acquisition unit 502 analyzes the content of the acquired call information. Specifically, the call information acquisition unit 502 acquires information from each area of call information (see FIG. 8).

  In step S2400, the call information acquisition unit 502 determines whether the acquired call information includes a noise reduction request for the local station VC terminal 400-1. Specifically, the call information acquisition unit 502 sets the call information request information to “MESSAGE”, the call information destination to “VC1”, and the call information message body to “REQ for audio NR”. Judge whether there is. When the acquired call information includes a noise reduction request for the local station VC terminal 400-1 (S2400: YES), the call information acquisition unit 502 proceeds to step S2500. If the acquired call information does not include a noise reduction request for the VC terminal 400-1 on the local station side (S2400: NO), the call information acquisition unit 502 proceeds to step S2600.

  In step S2500, VC high-quality control apparatus 500 executes new state determination and peripheral device control processing. The new state determination and peripheral device control processing is processing for determining and controlling the state of the peripheral device in order to reduce ambient noise.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of new state determination and peripheral device control processing.

  First, in step S2510, the device state acquisition unit 503 identifies peripheral devices of the local station VC terminal 400-1. Specifically, for example, the device status acquisition unit 503 broadcasts a message for inquiring about an electrical device connected to the local station LAN 220-1 to the home network. Then, the device status acquisition unit 503 specifies that the local station VC terminal 400-1 and the first to third devices 231 to 233 are connected to the home network based on the returned response message. And the apparatus state acquisition part 503 judges that the surrounding apparatus of the local station side VC terminal 400-1 is the 1st-3rd apparatuses 231-233.

  In step S2520, the device state acquisition unit 503 acquires the current operation state of each peripheral device (here, the first to third devices 231 to 233), and generates device state information (see FIG. 5). Hold. Specifically, for example, the device state acquisition unit 503 transmits a message inquiring about the current operation state to each peripheral device, and acquires information indicating the current operation state from the returned response message.

  Note that the device state acquisition unit 503 may include a message for inquiring about the current operation state in the message for inquiring about the electric device connected to the local station LAN 220-1 in step S2510. In addition, the device state acquisition unit 503 may perform the processes of steps S2510 and S2520 at other timing, for example, before step S2100 of FIG. However, in this case, it is desirable that the device state acquisition unit 503 periodically performs the processes of steps S2510 and S2520 so that the latest state can be acquired as much as possible.

  In step S <b> 2530, the control determination unit 505 refers to the noise tendency information (see FIG. 6) and identifies ambient state information corresponding to the device state information held by the device state acquisition unit 503. That is, the control determination unit 505 determines which ambient state information corresponds to the combination of the peripheral devices and the combination of the respective operation states. Then, the control determination unit 505 determines that the operation state of each peripheral device indicated by the specified ambient state information is the current state.

  In the example of FIGS. 5 and 6, the control determination unit 505 determines that “state A” is the current state.

  In step S2540, the control determination unit 505 extracts ambient state information corresponding to a state having a smaller noise index than the current state from the noise tendency information. In the example of FIGS. 5 and 6, the control determination unit 505 extracts “state B” and “state C”. Then, the control determination unit 505 calculates the device state change number and the noise index change amount when transitioning to a state where the noise index is small. Here, the number of device state changes is the number of on / off state changes of operation for each peripheral device. The noise index change amount is the amount of noise index change.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a calculation result of the device state change number and the noise index change amount.

  In the transition from “state A” to “state B” illustrated in FIG. 6, the peripheral device with the device ID “M1” turns from on to off, and the peripheral device with the device ID “M2” turns from off to on. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, the number of device state changes is “2”. Further, since the noise index changes from 13 to 2, the noise index change amount is “−11”.

  On the other hand, in the transition from “state A” to “state C” shown in FIG. 6, the peripheral device with the device ID “M1” is turned from on to off. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, the number of device state changes is “1”. Further, since the noise index changes from 13 to 0, the noise index change amount is “−13”.

  In step S2550, the control determination unit 505 selects a new ambient operation state to be applied from the calculated device state change number and noise index change amount. In the present embodiment, the control determination unit 505 selects a value with the smallest number of changes in the device state among negative values of the noise figure change amount, that is, those with a good noise figure. Therefore, the control determination unit 505 selects “state C” as a new ambient operation state.

  In step S <b> 2560, the control determination unit 505 updates the noise index of the ambient state information determined to be the current state among the noise tendency information stored in the noise tendency information storage unit 504. Since the noise reduction request is newly transmitted once in the current state, the control determination unit 505 increases the corresponding noise index by 1. In the example of FIGS. 5 and 6, the control determination unit 505 increases the noise figure of “state A” from “13” to “14”.

  In step S2570, the control information generation unit 506 generates control information for shifting to the ambient operation state selected by the control determination unit 505, transmits the control information to the corresponding peripheral device, and returns to the process of FIG. In the above example, the control information generation unit 506 transmits control information instructing the second device 232 to stop the operation. As a result, the operation sound of the second device 232 disappears and the ambient noise is reduced.

  In step S2600 of FIG. 9, the control information generation unit 506 calls the call state information held by the call information acquisition unit 502 (see FIG. 4) and the device state information held by the device state acquisition unit 503 (see FIG. 5). And are updated respectively. More specifically, the control information generation unit 506 gives the call state acquisition unit 502 the current call state information for each VC terminal, the call state indicated by the control information (that is, the new call selected by the VC terminal). State). However, in the control according to the present embodiment, the control information generation unit 506 does nothing because there is no change in the call state information. Further, the control information generation unit 506 causes the device state acquisition unit 503 to match the current operation state of the device state information with the surrounding operation state indicated by the control information (that is, the operation state of the selected new surrounding device). .

  In step S2700, the network input / output unit 501 determines whether an instruction to end the process is given by a user operation or the like. If the network input / output unit 501 is not instructed to end the process (S2700: NO), the network input / output unit 501 returns to step S2100 and continues to monitor the communication data. When the network input / output unit 501 is instructed to end the process (S2700: YES), the network input / output unit 501 ends the process.

  With such an operation, the VC high-quality control apparatus 500 can specify the peripheral device of the local station VC terminal 400-1 and acquire the current operation state of each peripheral device. Further, the VC high-quality control apparatus 500 can acquire the noise reduction request when it is transmitted from the game-side VC terminal 400-2, and can stop the operation of the specified peripheral device.

  If the ambient noise is not sufficiently reduced by switching the ambient operation state once, a noise reduction request is issued again. Then, the VC high-quality control device 500 switches to the ambient operation state in which the noise index is further smaller. In the present embodiment, by repeating such processing, ambient noise can be reduced in stages, and changes in the surrounding environment of the first user can be suppressed as much as possible. Therefore, in this Embodiment, the communication environment of both the 1st user and the 2nd user can be maintained and improved with sufficient balance.

  Thus, VC high-quality control apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment identifies peripheral devices of local station VC terminal 400-1, and when a noise reduction request is issued from opposite VC terminal 400-2 Stop the operation of surrounding equipment. Thereby, the VC high quality control apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment can reduce ambient noise without particularly performing signal processing on audio data for detection and removal of ambient noise. Therefore, VC high-quality control apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment can reduce ambient noise in a state where power consumption is suppressed as compared with the above-described conventional technology. That is, VC high-quality control apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment can realize high-quality bidirectional communication with lower power consumption.

  In addition, VC high-quality control apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment suppresses the occurrence of ambient noise itself. Therefore, the VC high-quality control apparatus 500 can reduce ambient noise that is difficult to remove by conventional audio signal processing, such as television audio that does not have characteristics as stationary noise.

  In addition, VC high-quality control apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment uses a noise reduction request from game-side VC terminal 400-2 as a trigger for ambient noise reduction. The first user on the local-station-side VC terminal 400-1 side may not fully understand the degree of influence of ambient noise. In addition, in the analysis of audio data, the degree of influence of ambient noise may not be determined with high accuracy. Since the VC high-quality control apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment can directly obtain a trigger from the second user who is the main body that determines the degree of the influence of the ambient noise, the ambient noise reduction can be performed at an appropriate timing. It can be carried out.

(Embodiment 2)
The second embodiment of the present invention is an example in which the operation of peripheral devices is controlled in consideration of the degree of priority of operation maintenance for each electric device.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the VC high-quality control apparatus according to the present embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 3 of the first embodiment. The same parts as those in FIG. Moreover, the VC high quality control apparatus according to the present embodiment is arranged in the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 as in the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 12, a VC high-quality control apparatus 500a according to the present embodiment includes a device control attribute information storage unit 507a in addition to the configuration of FIG. 3, and further controls different from the control determination unit 505 of FIG. It has the determination part 505a.

  The noise tendency information in the present embodiment prescribes states other than the on / off state as the operation state of each electrical device.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the content of the noise tendency information in the present embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 6 of the first embodiment. Portions corresponding to those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

  As illustrated in FIG. 13, the noise tendency information 630a describes not only the on / off state but also the volume state as the operation state 633a for an electric device capable of adjusting the volume. For example, between the “state D” and the “state E”, the electronic device with the device ID “M1” has the same on-off state but a different volume state. That is, the VC high-quality control apparatus 500a according to the present embodiment can perform not only power supply control but also volume control for peripheral devices.

  The device control attribute information storage unit 507a in FIG. 12 stores device control attribute information that defines the priority of the operation state for each operation state of the electrical device.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of the content of the device control attribute information.

  As illustrated in FIG. 14, the device control attribute information 640a describes control priority information 642a in association with the device ID 641a, and describes a priority value 643a in association with the control priority information 642a. The control priority information 642a is information relating to the priority of control for noise reduction. The priority value 643a is a value indicating the degree of priority (that is, the priority of the control priority information 642a itself) at which control for noise reduction is performed according to the control priority information 642a. In other words, the priority value 643a indicates the degree of deterioration of the surrounding environment of the first user when control contrary to the control priority information 642a is performed, and indicates the magnitude of the control penalty.

  For example, the device control attribute information 640a describes control priority information 642a of “volume control has priority over power control” in association with the device ID 641a of “M1”. This indicates that the first device 231 prioritizes volume control over power control. The device control attribute information 640a describes control priority information 642a “power control before M1 power control” in association with the device ID 641a “M2”. This indicates that the power control of the second device 232 is performed before the volume control of the first device 231.

  In addition, the device control attribute information 640a describes a priority value 643a of “50” in association with the control priority information 642a of “volume control has priority over power control”. The device control attribute information 640a describes a priority value 643a of “100” in association with the control priority information 642a of “power control before M1 power control” described above. In these methods, the penalty for performing the volume control of the first device 231 prior to the power control of the second device 232 is greater than performing the power control of the first device 231 prior to the volume control. Indicates that it is large. In the present embodiment, for example, the maximum value of the priority value 643a is “100”.

  The control determination unit 505a in FIG. 12 calculates a penalty frequency for each ambient state information that is a selection candidate based on the control priority information 642a stored in the device control attribute information storage unit 507a. Then, the control determination unit 505a finally selects the ambient state information with the lowest penalty frequency. Here, the penalty frequency is a value indicating a degree contrary to the priority when each electrical device transitions to a certain operation state.

  VC high-quality control apparatus 500a according to the present embodiment operates in the same manner as the operation shown in FIG. 9 of the first embodiment, but only the new state determination and peripheral device control processes in step S2500 are the processes shown in FIG. Different processing is performed.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the new state determination and peripheral device control processing in the present embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 10 of the first embodiment. The same parts as those in FIG. 10 are denoted by the same step numbers, and description thereof will be omitted.

  When the control determination unit 505a determines the current operation state of the peripheral device (S2530), the process proceeds to step S2540a. In the example illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 13, the control determination unit 505a determines that “state D” is the current state.

  In step S2540a, the control determination unit 505a extracts, as selection candidates, one or more surrounding state information corresponding to a state having a noise index smaller than that of the current state from the noise tendency information (see FIG. 13). In the example illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 13, the control determination unit 505a extracts “state E” and “state F” as selection candidates. Then, the control determination unit 505a calculates the noise index change amount for each selection candidate and calculates the penalty frequency with reference to the device control attribute information (see FIG. 14). The control determination unit 505a in the present embodiment calculates the total value of the priority values of the corresponding control priority information among the device control attribute information as the penalty frequency.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of calculation results of the penalty frequency and the noise index change amount.

  In the transition from “state D” to “state E” shown in FIG. 13, the noise figure changes from 20 to 10, so the noise figure change amount is “−10”. Further, since there is no corresponding control priority information shown in FIG. 14, the penalty frequency is “0”.

  On the other hand, in the transition from “state D” to “state F” shown in FIG. 13, the noise index changes from 20 to 0, so the noise index change amount is “−20”. Further, since all of the control priority information shown in FIG. 14 is applicable, the penalty frequency is “250”.

  In step S2550a, control determination unit 505a finally selects a new ambient motion state to be applied from the selection candidates based on the calculated noise index change amount and penalty frequency. Then, the control determination unit 505a proceeds to step S2560. The control determination unit 505a according to the present embodiment selects a value having a negative penalty for the noise index change amount, that is, a noise index that is improved. Therefore, the control determination unit 505a selects “state E” as a new ambient operation state.

  As described above, the VC high-quality control apparatus 500a according to the present embodiment can perform control for noise reduction so that the penalty is as low as possible based on the priority of operation maintenance for each electric device. .

  In the present embodiment, for example, a case is assumed in which a refrigerator is present around local station VC terminal 400-1. Stopping the operation of the refrigerator can reduce ambient noise, but it is very inconvenient for the first user because the internal temperature is not maintained. Therefore, the VC high quality control apparatus 500a according to the present embodiment can suppress the occurrence of inconvenience to the first user as much as possible by applying the device control attribute information. Therefore, the VC high-quality control apparatus 500a can maintain and improve the communication environment of both the first user and the second user in a more balanced manner.

(Embodiment 3)
The third embodiment of the present invention is an example in which device control attribute information is updated based on a change in the operating state of an electric device.

  FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the VC high-quality control apparatus according to the present embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 12 of the second embodiment. The same parts as those in FIG. 12 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. Moreover, the VC high quality control apparatus according to the present embodiment is arranged in the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment.

  In FIG. 17, the VC high-quality control apparatus 500b according to the present embodiment has a device control attribute generation unit 508b in addition to the configuration of FIG. 12, and is further different from the device state acquisition unit 503 of FIG. A device state acquisition unit 503b is included.

  The device status acquisition unit 503b identifies peripheral devices and acquires their current operation status in the same manner as in the second embodiment, detects changes in the operation status of each electrical device connected to the home network, and details of the changes To get. However, the change to be detected here is a change other than the change by the control of the VC high-quality control device 500, that is, the change by the manual operation of the first user. Therefore, hereinafter, the change in the operating state of the electrical device that is to be detected by the device state acquisition unit 503b is referred to as “user device operation”, and the content of the change is referred to as “user device operation information”. Then, the device state acquisition unit 503b outputs the acquired user device operation information to the device control attribute generation unit 508b.

  The device control attribute generation unit 508b generates and updates the device control attribute information stored in the device control attribute information storage unit 507a based on the user device operation information input from the device state acquisition unit 503b. More specifically, the device control attribute generation unit 508a estimates an operation priority pattern for each electric device of the first user from the user device operation information, and further, for each operation priority pattern, the pattern. Estimate its own priority. The device control attribute generation unit 508a uses the estimated operation priority pattern as control priority information, and sets the degree of priority of the estimated operation priority pattern itself as a priority value.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the VC high-quality control apparatus 500b according to the present embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 9 of the first embodiment. The same parts as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same step numbers, and description thereof will be omitted.

  In step S2000b, the VC high-quality control apparatus 500b executes user device operation monitoring processing for generating and updating device control attribute information according to user device operation, and then proceeds to step S2100. Note that the VC high-quality control apparatus 500b may perform the user device operation monitoring process at other timing such as before step S2700.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an example of user device operation monitoring processing.

  First, in step S2010b, the device state acquisition unit 503b determines whether a new user device operation has been performed. More specifically, the device state acquisition unit 503b transmits, for example, a message inquiring about the current operation state to each electric device, and acquires information indicating the current operation state from the returned response message. And the apparatus state acquisition part 503b hold | maintains at least the information acquired this time and the information acquired last time for every electric equipment. The device state acquisition unit 503b compares these pieces of information for each electric device, and determines that there is a new user device operation when there is a change in the operation state.

  In addition, when acquiring the current operation state of each electric appliance regularly as described above, the device state acquisition unit 503b does not necessarily need to acquire the current operation state in step S2520 of FIG.

  In addition, the device state acquisition unit 503b may handle only a change in an operation state related to power saving, such as an operation for decreasing the volume and an operation for turning off the power, as a user device operation.

  If there is no new user device operation (S2010b: NO), the device state acquisition unit 503b directly returns to the process of FIG. In addition, when there is a new user device operation (S2010b: YES), the device state acquisition unit 503b outputs user device operation information to the device control attribute generation unit 508b, and proceeds to step S2020b.

  In step S2020b, the device control attribute generation unit 508b analyzes the input user device operation information, and estimates the above-described operation priority pattern and the height of the priority. Then, the device control attribute generation unit 508b stores, in the device control attribute information storage unit 507a, device control attribute information in which the estimated priority level is described as a priority value for the estimated operation priority pattern.

  When the device control attribute information is already stored, the device control attribute generation unit 508b performs an update to add the above-described control priority information and priority value to the device control attribute information. If the control priority information is already described in the device control attribute information, the priority value is updated. Then, the device control attribute generation unit 508b returns to the process of FIG.

  Specifically, for example, when the control priority information corresponding to the new user device operation information does not exist, the device control attribute generation unit 508b adds the control priority information and sets the priority value to 1. . When the control priority information corresponding to the new user device operation information already exists, the device control attribute generation unit 508b increments the priority value by 1 with 100 as the maximum value. When there is control priority information that is contrary to new user device operation information, the device control attribute generation unit 508b decreases the priority value by 1 with 1 being the minimum value. In addition, the device control attribute generation unit 508b associates control priority information with “power control disabled” by default for an electric device that is not operated by a user device, and sets the priority value to “100”. .

  Note that the device control attribute generation unit 508b may acquire the attribute of each electrical device, and change the increase / decrease width of the priority value or the default value according to the attribute.

  In addition, the device control attribute generation unit 508b retains and stores the input user device operation information, analyzes the tendency of the user device operation from the stored user device operation information, and generates or updates the device control attribute information. May be. In this case, the device control attribute generation unit 508b does not necessarily generate or update the device control attribute information. In addition, while the device control attribute information is not yet stored in the device control attribute information storage unit 507a, the control determination unit 505a selects the ambient state information without using the device control attribute information as in the first embodiment. You may do it.

  In this case, the device control attribute generation unit 508b may determine a new priority value without using the current priority value. In addition, the device control attribute generation unit 508b prepares a function for weighting a value based on the frequency for each control priority information or the like, or dynamically calculates a value calculated by applying this function to the priority. It may be a degree value.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the device control attribute information in the present embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 14 of the second embodiment. Portions corresponding to those in FIG. 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 20, when there are various patterns of operation priority, the device control attribute information 640b generated and updated based on this pattern associates a plurality of control priority information 642b with one device ID 641a. Can be described. Also, in such device control attribute information 640b, the described control priority information 642b and its priority value 643b can change over time according to user device operations.

  Thus, the VC high quality control apparatus 500b according to the present embodiment can dynamically set the device control attribute information so as to follow the tendency of the first user's operation. The tendency of a user's operation usually matches the priority of control for that user. Therefore, the VC high-quality control apparatus 500b according to the present embodiment can realize more preferable control for the first user.

  The ambient noise targeted for reduction by the communication environment control device (VC high quality control device) according to the present invention is the operation sound of the peripheral device in each of the embodiments described above, but is not limited to this. The ambient noise to be reduced by the communication environment control device according to the present invention may be light emitted by a peripheral device such as lighting equipment or light on a television screen during operation, or electromagnetic waves generated by the peripheral device during operation.

  In addition, the operation state of the peripheral device to be controlled by the communication environment control device according to the present invention is not limited to the above example. The communication environment control device according to the present invention may control various operation states such as, for example, the intensity of air blowing, the brightness and direction of a lighting fixture or a television screen.

  In addition, although the terminal device targeted for ambient noise reduction by the communication environment control device according to the present invention is a mobile information communication terminal in each of the embodiments described above, the present invention is not limited to this. The terminal device targeted for ambient noise reduction by the communication environment control device according to the present invention may be, for example, a stationary device such as a personal computer in which a microphone and a microphone are installed on a desk or the like.

  In addition, the communication environment control device according to the present invention may include a plurality of terminal devices that are simultaneously subject to ambient noise reduction. In this case, the communication environment control device may acquire a noise reduction request for each terminal device, specify peripheral devices, manage noise tendency information, and perform operation control of the peripheral devices.

  In addition, the communication environment control device according to the present invention may specify the peripheral device by specifying the position of the terminal device when the electric device is distributed over a wide range and installed at a fixed position. In this case, for example, the communication environment control device may hold in advance a correspondence table that describes which electrical device is installed in which position range (for example, a room). Then, the communication environment control device detects the position of the terminal device (for example, in which room) by a known position detection technology such as GPS (global positioning system) or wireless tag, and refers to the correspondence table to What is necessary is just to specify an apparatus.

  In addition, the communication environment control device according to the present invention counts changes in functional units of electrical equipment, such as “air conditioning equipment” and “lighting equipment”, instead of changes in electrical equipment as the number of equipment status changes. You may make it do. In this case, the communication environment control apparatus can set the number of device state changes to “1” instead of “2” when performing the device operation substitution such as turning off the air conditioner and turning on the fan. . As a result, the communication environment control device can actively substitute for device operation when reducing ambient noise.

  In addition, the communication environment control device according to the present invention may request based on the numerical information when the noise reduction request includes numerical information corresponding to the level of reduction desired to be requested by the game-side VC terminal. You may judge the level.

  In addition, the communication environment control device according to the present invention stops the noise reduction function by signal processing in the terminal device only when the battery of the terminal device is low, and performs the noise reduction function by operation control of surrounding devices. May be. In this case, the communication environment control device acquires the battery information of the terminal device, and performs such function substitution when the remaining battery level is equal to or less than the threshold value and there is a noise reduction request. That's fine.

  In addition, the communication environment control device according to the present invention stops the noise reduction function by signal processing in the terminal device and performs the noise reduction function by operation control of peripheral devices only when the terminal device is not connected to the system power supply. You may do it. In this case, the communication environment control device acquires the power supply connection information of the terminal device, and performs such function substitution when the terminal device is not connected to the system power supply and there is a noise reduction request. You can do it.

  Further, the communication environment control device according to the present invention determines whether to employ noise reduction by signal processing in the terminal device or noise reduction by operation control of peripheral devices according to the type of the terminal device. May be. In this case, for example, the communication environment control device selects noise reduction by operation control of peripheral devices for a terminal device such as a mobile phone that is premised on battery driving. Then, the communication environment control device selects noise reduction by signal processing in the terminal device for a terminal device such as a desktop personal computer that is assumed to be driven by a power source.

  Further, when switching the noise reduction method as described above, the communication environment control device may handle whether or not noise reduction is performed by signal processing of the terminal device in the surrounding device state. As a result, the communication environment control device can limit the change in the operating state of the peripheral devices only when it is necessary to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device, thereby further improving the bidirectional communication. Quality can be achieved.

  Each functional unit of the communication environment control apparatus according to the present invention may be realized by an LSI (large scale integrated circuit), which is an integrated circuit, in addition to the software realized by the control program as described above. In this case, each functional unit may be individually made into one chip, or a plurality of parts may be made into one chip. The LSI here may be referred to as an IC (integrated circuit), a system LSI, a super LSI, an ultra LSI, or the like depending on the degree of integration.

  In addition, the integrated circuit that implements each functional unit of the communication environment control device according to the present invention is not limited to an LSI, and may be a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. The integrated circuit may be a field programmable gate array (FPGA) that can be programmed after manufacture, or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure internal circuit cell connections and settings. Furthermore, when a technique for circuit integration that replaces LSI, such as circuit integration by biotechnology, appears due to the advancement of semiconductor technology or other derived technology, it is of course possible to use that technology.

  In addition, the communication environment control device according to the present invention can acquire a noise reduction request from a communication partner of a terminal device that is a target of ambient noise reduction, and can identify a peripheral device and control its operation. , May be placed anywhere. For example, the communication environment control device can be integrally provided in a terminal device, a router, a home device control management device, or an electrical device that is a control target, which is a target for ambient noise reduction. In the terminal device to which the communication environment control device is applied, the processing described with reference to FIG. 9 and the like can reduce the amount of calculation resources used compared to the steady signal processing for monitoring and reducing ambient noise. A power saving effect in the terminal device is expected.

  The communication environment control device and the communication environment control method according to the present invention are useful as a communication environment control device and a communication environment control method that can reduce ambient noise while suppressing power consumption.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Communication system 200-1 1st residence 200-2 2nd residence 210 Router 210-1 Own station side router 210-2 Counter side router 220 LAN
220-1 Local station LAN
220-2 Local LAN
231 1st equipment 232 2nd equipment 233 3rd equipment 240 Home equipment network 250 Home equipment control management device 300 External network 400 VC terminal 400-1 Own station side VC terminal 400-2 Counter station side VC terminal 401 Network input / output Unit 402 session control unit 403 stream transmission / reception unit 404 codec processing unit 405 video codec processing unit 406 audio codec processing unit 407 audio output unit 408 audio input unit 410 operation input unit 411 screen generation unit 412 video input unit 413 video synthesis unit 414 video output Unit 500, 500a, 500b VC high quality control device 501 network input / output unit 502 call information acquisition unit 503, 503b device state acquisition unit 504 noise tendency information storage unit 505, 505a control determination unit 506 control information Forming portion 507a the device control attribute information storage unit 508b equipment control attribute generating unit

Claims (12)

A communication environment control device for controlling an environment of communication between a first terminal device and a second terminal device,
An appliance state acquisition unit that identifies electrical appliances present around the first terminal device;
A network input / output unit connected to the communication path between the first terminal device and the second terminal device;
Call information for monitoring communication data transmitted from the second terminal device to the first terminal device on the path, and acquiring the request when the communication data includes a request for reducing ambient noise An acquisition unit;
A control information generation unit that stops the operation of the electrical equipment existing around the first terminal device or reduces its operation level on the condition that the request is acquired;
Communication environment control device. The ambient noise includes at least one of sound and light emitted by the electrical device existing around the first terminal device during operation.
The communication environment control device according to claim 1. The network input / output unit is
Communicatively connected to the electrical device,
The control information generation unit
Via the network input / output unit, to send to the electrical equipment existing around the first terminal device control information indicating the change of the operating state,
The communication environment control device according to claim 2. The network input / output unit is
A first network to which the first terminal device and the second terminal device are connected, and a second network to which the plurality of electrical devices are connected, so as to be communicable;
The communication environment control device according to claim 3. The request includes a request level corresponding to the number of reception times of the noise reduction request or numerical information included in the noise reduction request,
The device status acquisition unit
Obtaining the current operating state of the electrical equipment;
A noise tendency information storage unit that stores noise tendency information describing a plurality of ambient state information that defines different operating states of the electrical equipment, respectively;
A control determination unit that selects the ambient state information from the noise tendency information according to the required level and the current operation state;
The control information generation unit
Generating the control information based on the ambient state information selected by the control determination unit;
The communication environment control device according to claim 2. The ambient state information is associated with a noise index that is an estimated value of the ambient noise level,
The control information generation unit
The higher the required level, the higher the ambient state information corresponding to the higher noise figure is selected.
The communication environment control device according to claim 5. The control determination unit
For the ambient state information, the noise index is set based on the request level of the request acquired by the call information acquisition unit while the electrical device is in the operation state indicated by the ambient state information.
The communication environment control device according to claim 6. The ambient state information includes information indicating an on / off state of operation for each electric device,
The control determination unit
Preferentially selecting the ambient state information so that the number of changes in the on / off state is smaller;
The communication environment control device according to claim 5. A device control attribute information storage unit that stores device control attribute information that defines the priority of the operation state for each operation state of the electrical device,
The control determination unit
Preferentially selecting the ambient state information such that the electrical device having a high priority maintains operation;
The communication environment control device according to claim 5. The device control attribute information includes a priority value indicating a degree of priority of operation maintenance for each electric device,
The control determination unit
Based on the priority value, for each of the surrounding state information that is a selection candidate, the penalty is calculated as a penalty degree indicating a degree contrary to the priority when each electrical device transitions to a corresponding operation state, and the calculated penalty Preferentially selecting the ambient state information with a lower frequency
The communication environment control device according to claim 9. A device control attribute generation unit that detects a user device operation that is a change in the operating state of the electrical device other than a change by the control information generation unit, and sets the priority based on the detected user device operation; Have
The communication environment control device according to claim 9. A communication environment control method for controlling an environment of communication between a first terminal device and a second terminal device,
Identifying an electrical device present around the first terminal device;
Communication data transmitted from the second terminal device to the first terminal device on the route is connected to the communication route between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. Monitoring step;
When the communication data includes a request to reduce ambient noise, obtaining the request;
Stopping the operation of the electrical equipment existing around the first terminal device or reducing the operation level on the condition that the request has been acquired.
Communication environment control method.

Images