JP2015159391A - transmission terminal, transmission system, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transmission terminal, a transmission system, and a program capable of cutting off the connection with another transmission terminals in accordance with the brightness of image data to be transmitted.SOLUTION: The transmission terminal for transmitting image data comprises; reception means for receiving information related to the brightness of image data transmitted from another transmission terminal; determination means for determining whether or not the information related to the brightness received by the reception means satisfies predetermined conditions; and transfer means which, when the determination means determines that the information related to the brightness satisfies the predetermined conditions, cuts off the connection with another transmission terminal to transfer the transmission terminal into a predetermined state.

Description

  The present invention relates to a transmission terminal, a transmission system, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art A transmission system that performs a video conference or the like via a communication network such as the Internet has been known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In such a transmission system, when a call is started between a plurality of transmission terminals, image data and audio data are transmitted and received, and a video conference can be realized between conference rooms in remote places.

  Moreover, such a transmission system can also be used as a monitoring camera for checking the availability (usage status) of a conference room in which a transmission terminal is installed and for the purpose of crime prevention (for example, see Patent Document 2).

  However, in the above prior art, when used as a surveillance camera for checking the availability of a conference room or for security purposes, for example, when the conference room is not illuminated at night, it cannot be confirmed or monitored. There is a problem of incurring expensive call charges and network traffic.

  Embodiments of the present invention have been made in view of the above points, and provide a transmission terminal, a transmission system, and a program for disconnecting connection with another transmission terminal according to the brightness of image data to be transmitted The purpose is to do.

  In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention provides a transmission terminal that transmits image data, a receiving unit that receives information about the brightness of image data transmitted from another transmission terminal, and the reception Determining means for determining whether or not the information on lightness received by the means satisfies a predetermined condition; and when the information on the lightness is determined by the determining means to satisfy the predetermined condition, And a transition means for transitioning the transmission terminal to a predetermined state.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, the connection with other transmission terminals can be disconnected according to the brightness of the transmitted image data.

It is a schematic diagram of an example of a transmission system concerning this embodiment. It is an external view of an example of the transmission terminal which concerns on this embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the transmission terminal which concerns on this embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the relay apparatus, transmission management system, program provision system, and maintenance system which concern on this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of each terminal, apparatus, and system which comprise the transmission system 1 which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram of an example of a condition setting table. It is an image figure of an example of an initial setting screen. It is an image figure of the other example of an initial setting screen. It is a block diagram of an example of a message table. It is a block diagram of an example of a relay apparatus management table. It is a block diagram of an example of a terminal authentication management table. It is a block diagram of an example of a terminal management table. It is a block diagram of an example of a destination list management table. It is a block diagram of an example of a session management table. It is a block diagram of an example of an automatic connection management table. It is a sequence diagram of an example of the process of the preparation stage which starts a connection between the terminals which concern on this embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of an example of the process of the step which starts a connection between the some terminal which concerns on this embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of an example of automatic cutting processing concerning this embodiment. It is a block diagram of an example of the data contained in connection termination information. It is an image figure of an example of an automatic disconnection notification screen. It is a sequence diagram of an example of automatic connection processing concerning this embodiment. It is an image figure of an example of an automatic connection rejection screen.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

<Overall configuration>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a transmission system according to the present embodiment.

  The transmission system includes a data providing system for transmitting content data in one direction from one transmission terminal to the other transmission terminal via the transmission management system, information and emotions between a plurality of transmission terminals via the transmission management system, etc. A communication system that communicates with each other is included. This communication system is a system for mutually transmitting information, emotions, etc. between a plurality of communication terminals (corresponding to “transmission terminal”) via a communication management system (corresponding to “transmission management system”). An example is a conference system or a videophone system. The data providing system is a system for transmitting information and the like between a plurality of data providing terminals (corresponding to “transmission terminals”) via a data providing management system (corresponding to “transmission management system”). An example is a monitoring system that provides (image) data.

  In the present embodiment, a transmission system, a transmission management system, and a transmission terminal will be described assuming a monitoring system as an example of a data providing system. That is, the transmission terminal and the transmission management system of the present invention are not only applied to a monitoring system, but also applied to other communication systems such as a data providing system and a conference system.

  First, a transmission system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of transmission terminals (10aa, 10ab,...) And displays (120aa, 120ab,...) For the transmission terminals (10aa, 10ab,...). ..), A plurality of relay devices (30a, 30b,...), A transmission management system 50, a program providing system 90, and a maintenance system 100.

  The plurality of transmission terminals 10 perform transmission by transmitting and receiving image data and audio data as an example of content data. The plurality of transmission terminals 10 may perform transmission by transmission / reception of only image data.

  In the following, “transmission terminal” is simply represented as “terminal”, and “transmission management system” is simply represented as “management system”. Further, an arbitrary terminal among the plurality of terminals (10aa, 10ab,...) Is represented as “terminal 10”, and an arbitrary display among the plurality of displays (120aa, 120ab,...) Is “display 120”. An arbitrary relay device among the plurality of relay devices (30a, 30b,...) Is represented as “relay device 30”. Furthermore, a terminal as a request source that requests the start of monitoring (start of data provision) from one terminal 10 to the other terminal 10 is represented as “request source terminal”, and a terminal as a request destination is “destination”. "Terminal".

  In the transmission system 1, a management information session for transmitting and receiving various types of management information is established between the request source terminal and the destination terminal via the management system 50. In addition, a session for transmitting and receiving image data and audio data is established between the request source terminal and the destination terminal via the relay device 30.

  The relay device 30 shown in FIG. 1 relays content data among a plurality of terminals 10. The management system 50 centrally manages the login authentication from the terminal 10, the management of the call status of the terminal 10, the management of the destination list, and the call status of the relay device 30. In the present embodiment, the image of the image data is described as a moving image, but it may be a still image or both a moving image and a still image.

  A plurality of routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d, 70ab, 70cd) perform optimum route selection of image data and audio data. In the following, an arbitrary router among the routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d, 70ab, 70cd) is represented as “router 70”.

  The program providing system 90 includes an HD (Hard Disk) 204 described below, and stores a terminal program for causing the terminal 10 to realize various functions (or to cause the terminal 10 to function as various means). The terminal program can be transmitted to The HD 204 of the program providing system 90 also stores a relay device program for causing the relay device 30 to realize various functions (or to cause the relay device 30 to function as various means). The relay device program can be transmitted. Furthermore, the HD 204 of the program providing system 90 also stores a transmission management program for causing the management system 50 to realize various functions (or causing the management system 50 to function as various means). A transmission management program can be transmitted.

  The maintenance system 100 is a computer for performing maintenance, management, or maintenance of at least one of the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the management system 50, and the program providing system 90. For example, when the maintenance system 100 is installed in the country and the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the management system 50, or the program providing system 90 is installed outside the country, the maintenance system 100 is remotely connected via the communication network 2. Maintenance such as maintenance, management, and maintenance of at least one of the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the management system 50, and the program providing system 90 is performed. In addition, the maintenance system 100 does not go through the communication network 2, but includes a model number, a manufacturing number, a sales destination, a maintenance check, at least one of the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the management system 50, and the program providing system 90. Or, maintenance such as failure history management is performed.

  By the way, the terminals (10aa, 10ab, 10ac,...), The relay device 30a, and the router 70a are communicably connected via the LAN 2a. The terminals (10ba, 10bb, 10bc,...), The relay device 30b, and the router 70b are communicably connected via a LAN 2b. The LAN 2a and the LAN 2b are communicably connected by a dedicated line 2ab including a router 70ab, and are constructed in a predetermined area A. For example, the region A is Japan, the LAN 2a is constructed in a Tokyo office, and the LAN 2b is constructed in an Osaka office.

  On the other hand, the terminals (10ca, 10cb, 10cc,...), The relay device 30c, and the router 70c are communicably connected via a LAN 2c. The terminals (10da, 10db, 10dc,...), The relay device 30d, and the router 70d are communicably connected via a LAN 2d. The LAN 2c and the LAN 2d are communicably connected via a dedicated line 2cd including the router 70cd, and are constructed in a predetermined area B. For example, region B is the United States of America, LAN 2c is built in a New York office, and LAN 2d is Washington D.C. C. Is built in the office. Area A and area B are connected to each other via routers (70ab, 70cd) via the Internet 2i.

  The management system 50, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 are connected to the terminal 10 and the relay device 30 via the Internet 2i so as to be communicable. The management system 50, the program providing system 90, or the maintenance system 100 may be installed in the region A or the region B, or may be installed in a region other than these.

  In the present embodiment, the communication network 2 is constructed by the LAN 2a, LAN 2b, dedicated line 2ab, Internet 2i, dedicated line 2cd, LAN 2c, and LAN 2d. The communication network 2 may have a place where wireless communication such as WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) is performed in addition to wired communication.

  In FIG. 1, the four sets of numbers shown under each terminal 10, each relay device 30, management system 50, each router 70, program providing system 90, and maintenance system 100 are in general IPv4. An IP address is simply shown. For example, the IP address of the terminal 10aa is “1.2.1.3”. In addition, IPv6 may be used instead of IPv4, but IPv4 will be used for the sake of simplicity.

  In addition, each terminal 10 is not only a call between a plurality of offices, a call between different rooms in the same company, a call within the same room, a call between the outdoors and indoors, or outdoors and outdoors. May be used in When each terminal 10 is used outdoors, wireless communication such as a cellular phone communication network is performed.

<Hardware configuration>
Next, the hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is an external view of an example of a transmission terminal according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the longitudinal direction of the terminal 10 will be described as the X-axis direction, the direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction in the horizontal plane as the Y-axis direction, and the direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (vertical direction) will be described as the Z-axis direction.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the terminal 10 includes a housing 1100, an arm 1200, and a camera housing 1300. Among them, the front side wall surface 1110 of the housing 1100 is provided with an air intake surface (not shown) formed by a plurality of air intake holes, and the rear side wall surface 1120 of the housing 1100 is formed with a plurality of exhaust holes. An exhaust surface 1121 is provided. Thus, by driving a cooling fan built in the housing 1100, the outside air in front of the terminal 10 can be taken in through an intake surface (not shown) and exhausted to the rear of the terminal 10 through an exhaust surface 1121. A sound collecting hole 1131 is formed in the right side wall surface 1130 of the housing 1100, and sounds such as voice, sound, noise can be collected by a built-in microphone 114 described later.

  An operation panel 1150 is formed on the right wall surface 1130 side of the housing 1100. The operation panel 1150 is provided with a plurality of operation buttons (108a to 108e) which will be described later, a power switch 109 which will be described later, and an alarm lamp 119 which will be described later, and for passing an output sound from a built-in speaker 115 which will be described later. The sound output surface 1151 formed by the plurality of sound output holes is formed. Further, a housing 1160 as a recess for housing the arm 1200 and the camera housing 1300 is formed on the left wall surface 1140 side of the housing 1100. The right side wall surface 1130 of the housing 1100 is provided with a plurality of connection ports (1132a to 1132c) for electrically connecting cables to an external device connection I / F 118 described later. On the other hand, the left wall surface 1140 of the housing 1100 is provided with a connection port (not shown) for electrically connecting the cable 120c for the display 120 to an external device connection I / F 118 described later.

  In the following description, “operation button 108” is used when an arbitrary operation button is indicated among the operation buttons (108a to 108e), and “an arbitrary connection port is indicated among the connection ports (1132a to 1132c)”. This will be described using the connection port 1132 ”.

  Next, the arm 1200 is attached to the housing 1100 via a torque hinge 1210, and the arm 1200 is configured to be able to rotate in the vertical direction with respect to the housing 1100 within a tilt angle θ1 of 135 degrees. ing. FIG. 2 shows a state where the tilt angle is 90 degrees.

  The camera housing 1300 is provided with a built-in camera 1021 that can capture images of users, documents, rooms, and the like. A torque hinge 1310 is formed in the camera housing 1300. The camera housing 1300 is attached to the arm 1200 via a torque hinge 1310. The camera housing 1300 is attached to the arm 1200 via a torque hinge 1310. The pan angle θ2 of ± 180 degrees is assumed with respect to the arm 1200, with the state shown in FIG. And a tilt angle θ3 of ± 45 degrees can be rotated in the vertical and horizontal directions.

  Although not shown, the terminal 10 according to the present embodiment may be a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, a wristwatch, or a glasses-type wearable computer.

  Note that the relay device 30, the management system 50, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 have the same external appearance as a general server computer, and thus the description of the external appearance is omitted.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the terminal 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the transmission terminal according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal 10 of the present embodiment has programs used for driving the CPU 101 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 and an IPL (Initial Program Loader) for controlling the operation of the entire terminal 10. ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, RAM (Random Access Memory) 103 used as a work area for the CPU 101, flash memory 104 for storing various data such as terminal programs, image data, and audio data, and control of the CPU 101 The SSD (Solid State Drive) 105 that controls the reading or writing of various data to the flash memory 104 according to the above, the media drive 107 that controls the reading or writing (storage) of data to the recording medium 106 such as the flash memory, and the destination When selecting Operation button 108 is created, and a network I / F (Interface) 111 for the power switch 109 for switching ON / OFF of the power supply terminal 10, using the communication network 2 to the data transmission.

  The terminal 10 also includes a built-in camera 112 that captures an image of a subject under the control of the CPU 101 to obtain image data, an image sensor I / F 113 that controls driving of the camera 112, a built-in microphone 114 that inputs sound, and sound. The built-in speaker 115 for outputting the sound, the sound input / output I / F 116 for processing the input / output of the sound signal between the microphone 114 and the speaker 115 according to the control of the CPU 101, and the image data on the external display 120 according to the control of the CPU 101. A display I / F 117 for transmission, an external device connection I / F 118 for connecting various external devices, and an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above components as shown in FIG. The bus line 110 is provided.

  The display 120 is a display unit configured by a liquid crystal or an organic EL that displays an image of a subject, an operation icon, and the like. The display 120 is connected to the display I / F 117 by a cable 120c. The cable 120c may be an analog RGB (VGA) signal cable, a component video cable, HDMI (registered trademark) (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) or DVI (Digital Video). Interactive) signal cable may be used.

  The camera 112 includes a lens and a solid-state image sensor that converts an image (video) of a subject by converting light into electric charges. As the solid-state image sensor, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) or a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) is used. Etc. are used.

  External devices such as an external camera, an external microphone, and an external speaker can be connected to the external device connection I / F 118 by a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or the like. When an external camera is connected, the external camera is driven in preference to the built-in camera 112 according to the control of the CPU 101. Similarly, when an external microphone is connected or when an external speaker is connected, each of the external microphones and the built-in speaker 115 is given priority over the internal microphone 114 and the internal speaker 115 according to the control of the CPU 101. An external speaker is driven.

The recording medium 106 is detachable from the terminal 10. Further, any nonvolatile memory that reads or writes data according to the control of the CPU 101 is not limited to the flash memory 104, but may be an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and
Programmable ROM) or the like may be used.

  Further, the terminal program may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 106 and distributed as a file in an installable or executable format. The terminal program may be stored in the ROM 102 instead of the flash memory 104.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the relay device 30, the management system 50, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 will be described. FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the relay device, the transmission management system, the program providing system, and the maintenance system according to the present embodiment.

  The management system 50 stores various data such as a CPU 201 that controls the operation of the entire management system 50, a ROM 202 that stores programs used to drive the CPU 201 such as an IPL, a RAM 203 that is used as a work area for the CPU 201, and a transmission management program. The HD 204 to be stored, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 205 that controls reading or writing of various data to the HD 204 according to the control of the CPU 201, and a media drive 207 that controls reading or writing (storage) of data to a recording medium 206 such as a flash memory. , A display 208 that displays various information such as a cursor, menu, window, character, or image, a network I / F 209 for transmitting data using the communication network 2, characters, numerical values, A keyboard 211 having a plurality of keys for inputting seed instructions, a mouse 212 for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, etc., and a CD-ROM as an example of a removable recording medium (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) 213, a CD-ROM drive 214 for controlling the reading or writing of various data, and an address bus for electrically connecting the above components as shown in FIG. A bus line 210 such as a data bus is provided.

  The transmission management program is a file in an installable or executable format, and may be recorded and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or CD-ROM 213. . The transmission management program may be stored in the ROM 202 instead of the HD 204.

  Further, since the relay device 30 has the same hardware configuration as that of the management system 50, the description thereof is omitted. However, a relay device program for controlling the relay device 30 is recorded in the HD 204. Also in this case, the relay device program is a file in an installable or executable format, and is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or CD-ROM 213 for distribution. Good. The relay device program may be stored in the ROM 202 instead of the HD 204.

  Further, since the program providing system 90 and the maintenance system 100 have the same hardware configuration as the management system 50, the description thereof is omitted. However, a program providing program for controlling the program providing system 90 is recorded in the HD 204. Also in this case, the program providing program is a file in an installable or executable format, and may be recorded and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or the CD-ROM 213. Good. The program providing system program may be stored in the ROM 202 instead of the HD 204.

  As another example of the detachable recording medium, the recording medium is provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-R (Compact Disc Recordable), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or a Blu-ray Disc. May be.

<Functional configuration>
Next, the functional configuration of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of each terminal, apparatus, and system constituting the transmission system 1 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 5, the terminal 10, the relay device 30, and the management system 50 are connected so that data communication can be performed via the communication network 2. Further, the program providing system 90 and the maintenance system 100 shown in FIG. 1 are not directly related in the present embodiment, and thus are omitted in FIG.

<Functional configuration of terminal>
The terminal 10 includes a transmission / reception unit 11, an operation input reception unit 12, a login request unit 13, an imaging unit 14, an audio input unit 15 a, an audio output unit 15 b, a display control unit 16, a lightness determination unit 17, a power supply control unit 18, and a condition setting. Section 19, resumption permission determination section 20, destination list creation section 21, and storage / read processing section 22. Each of these units is a function realized by any one of the components shown in FIG. 3 being operated by a command from the CPU 101 according to a terminal program developed from the flash memory 104 onto the RAM 103, or Is a means to function.

  Further, the terminal 10 includes a volatile storage unit 2000 constructed by the RAM 103 shown in FIG. 3 and a nonvolatile storage unit 1000 constructed by the flash memory 104 shown in FIG.

  Next, each functional configuration of the terminal 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5. In the following, in describing each functional component of the terminal 10, among the components illustrated in FIG. 3, the relationship with the main components for realizing each functional component of the terminal 10 is also described. explain.

  The transmission / reception unit 11 of the terminal 10 shown in FIG. 5 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 3 and the network I / F 222 shown in FIG. Various data (or information) is transmitted / received to / from the terminal, device or system. The transmission / reception unit 11 starts receiving state information indicating the state of each terminal as a destination candidate from the management system 50 before starting a call with a desired destination terminal. This status information indicates not only the operating status (online or offline status) of each terminal 10 but also a detailed status such as whether the terminal 10 is still on the phone or is away from the desk. . In addition, the status information is not limited to the operating status of each terminal 10, but the cable 120c is disconnected from the terminal 10 at the terminal 10, audio is output but no image is output, or audio is not output ( Various states such as MUTE) are shown. Below, the case where status information shows an operation state is demonstrated as an example.

  The operation input receiving unit 12 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 3 and the operation buttons 108 and the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 3 and receives various inputs by the user. For example, when the user turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 3, the operation input receiving unit 12 shown in FIG. 5 receives the power ON and turns on the power.

  The login request unit 13 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 illustrated in FIG. 3, and requests that the login is made from the transmission / reception unit 11 to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 when receiving the power ON. And the current IP address of the request source terminal are automatically transmitted. When the user turns the power switch 109 from the ON state to the OFF state, the operation input receiving unit 12 completely turns off the power after the transmission / reception unit 11 transmits the state information indicating that the power supply is turned off to the management system 50. To do. As a result, the management system 50 side can grasp that the terminal 10 has been turned off from being turned on.

  The imaging unit 14 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 illustrated in FIG. 3 and the camera 112 and the image sensor I / F 113 illustrated in FIG. 3. Output data.

  The voice input unit 15a is realized by the command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 3 and the voice input / output I / F 116 shown in FIG. 3, and the user's voice is converted into a voice signal by the microphone 114. Thereafter, audio data relating to the audio signal is input. The audio output unit 15b is realized by the command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 3 and the audio input / output I / F 116 shown in FIG. 3, and outputs an audio signal related to the audio data to the speaker. To output sound.

  The display control unit 16 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 illustrated in FIG. 3 and the display I / F 117 illustrated in FIG. 3, and controls for transmitting image data to the external display 120. I do.

  The brightness determination unit 17 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 3, receives an average value of brightness transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 11 via the communication network 2 from the relay device 30, and this average value of brightness Is determined to be less than or equal to a predetermined threshold.

  The power control unit 18 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 illustrated in FIG. 3, and turns off the terminal 10 according to the determination result of the lightness determination unit 17.

  The condition setting unit 19 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 3, and stores setting information input by the user via the operation button 108 or the like in a condition setting management DB 1001 described later.

  The restart permission / inhibition determination unit 20 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 3 and is connected to the request source terminal according to the contents of a condition setting table stored in a condition setting management DB (Data Base) 1001 described later. It is determined whether or not to restart the connection.

  The destination list creation unit 21 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 3, and creates a destination list based on the destination list information received from the management system 50 and the status information of the terminal 10 as each destination candidate. And update.

  The storage / reading processing unit 22 is executed by the instruction from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 3 and the SSD 105 shown in FIG. 3, and stores various data in the nonvolatile storage unit 1000 or stored in the nonvolatile storage unit 2000. The process which reads the various data which were performed is performed. The nonvolatile storage unit 1000 stores a terminal ID (Identification) for identifying the terminal 10, a password, and the like. The nonvolatile storage unit 1000 includes a condition setting management DB 1001 and a message management DB 1002 which will be described later. Further, the storage / reading processing unit 22 stores various data in the volatile storage unit 2000 and reads out various data stored in the volatile storage unit 2000. The volatile storage unit 2000 overwrites and stores image data and audio data received when a call is made with the destination terminal. Among these, the image is displayed on the display 120 by the image data before being overwritten, and the sound is output from the speaker 150 by the audio data before being overwritten.

  Note that the terminal ID of the present embodiment and a relay device ID described later indicate identification information such as a language, characters, symbols, or various signs used to uniquely identify the terminal 10 and the relay device 30, respectively. Further, the terminal ID and the relay device ID may be identification information in which at least two of the language, characters, symbols, and various indicia are combined.

(Condition setting table)
In the nonvolatile storage unit 1000, a condition setting management DB 1001 configured by a condition setting table as shown in FIG. 6 is constructed. In the condition setting table, the “use” of the terminal 10, “automatic end” indicating whether or not to automatically terminate the connection when the brightness of the image data transmitted from the destination terminal is predetermined, and “exception” indicating the time not to be automatically terminated “Time”, “Brightness threshold” indicating the brightness threshold of the image data transmitted from the destination terminal, “Automatic connection” indicating whether or not to automatically connect, and “Connection destination” identifying the terminal 10 to be automatically connected “Time” indicating the time for automatic connection, and “Automatic connection permission / denial” indicating whether automatic connection from the request source terminal is permitted when the terminal itself is the destination terminal. Each of these fields can be set and changed by the user as will be described later.

  In the “use” field, it is set whether the terminal 10 is used as a conference system terminal or a monitoring system terminal. That is, when the user sets “Usage” as “0: for conference”, it becomes a conference terminal that transmits and receives image data and audio data between the plurality of terminals 10. When the user sets “use” as “1: monitoring”, image data (and audio data) is transmitted from one terminal 10 to the other terminal 10, and one terminal 10 is set. It becomes a monitoring terminal for monitoring rooms and the like.

  In the “automatic termination” field, it is set whether or not the connection is automatically terminated when the brightness of the image data transmitted from the destination terminal is equal to or less than a threshold value. That is, for example, when the brightness of the image data transmitted from the destination terminal is less than or equal to the threshold value, it is determined that the place where the destination terminal is installed is night, and the connection with the destination terminal is automatically terminated. is there.

  In the “exception time” field, a time (exception time) at which the connection with the destination terminal is not terminated even when the brightness of the image data transmitted from the destination terminal is equal to or less than the threshold value is set.

  In the “brightness threshold” field, when the value of the “automatic end” field is set to “1: Yes”, the brightness of the image data transmitted from the destination terminal is equal to or less than the threshold set here. In this case, the connection with the destination terminal is automatically terminated.

  In the “automatic connection” field, whether or not to automatically make a connection request to the terminal 10 set in the “connection destination” field at the time set in the table item of the “time” field is set. In the example of FIG. 6, the “connection destination” describes the location where the terminal 10 is installed and the terminal name, but may be the terminal ID of the terminal 10, for example.

  In the “automatic connection permission / denial” field, whether or not automatic connection from the request source terminal is permitted when the terminal itself is the destination terminal is set.

  Among the above table items, the items from the “automatic end” field to the “connection destination” field are setting items of the request source terminal (monitoring side terminal), and the “automatic connection permission / denial” field is the destination terminal (monitoring side terminal). (Terminal) setting items.

  Each of the table items can be set on an initial setting screen as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, for example. For example, on the initial setting screen when the terminal 10 is activated, the user selects the usage (conference or monitoring) of the terminal 10 as shown in FIG. Here, the description will be continued assuming that “for monitoring” is selected as the application. Next, the user selects whether to set the terminal 10 as a monitoring terminal (request source terminal) or as a monitoring terminal (destination terminal). First, the user will continue to explain the case where the terminal is set as a monitored terminal.

  As shown in FIG. 7B, the user sets the night mode (setting of the “automatic end” field) and the time when the night mode is not set (setting of the “exception time” field). Set up. Further, when the user sets the night mode as shown in FIG. 7C, the user sets the brightness threshold value (setting of the “brightness threshold value” field), and as shown in FIG. 7D. The setting of the destination terminal for automatic connection (setting in the “connection destination” field) and the time for automatic connection (setting in the “automatic connection” field) are set.

  Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 8A, when the user sets as a monitored terminal, as shown in FIG. 8B, an automatic connection request (connection start request) from the request source terminal For whether to allow connection. As shown in FIG. 8B, when setting is made not to permit connection, for example, setting may be made so that only an automatic connection request (connection start request) from a specific terminal 10 is permitted from an address book or the like. You may be able to do it.

  As described above, the user can perform the various settings described above in the initial setting of the terminal 10. Thereby, as will be described later, when the place where the destination terminal is installed is, for example, at night and the room becomes dark, the request source terminal performs processing such as terminating the connection with the destination terminal. Will be able to. The user can change various settings set in the initial settings shown above from the setting screen of the terminal 10. For such initial setting or setting change, the condition setting unit 19 of the terminal 10 overwrites the setting contents input by the user via the storage / reading processing unit 22 in the condition setting table of the condition setting management DB 1001 ( Can be done.

(Message table)
In the nonvolatile storage unit 1000, a message management DB 1002 configured by a message table as shown in FIG. 9 is constructed. In the message table, the message ID and the message content corresponding to the message ID are managed in association with each other.

<Functional configuration of relay device>
The relay device 30 includes a transmission / reception unit 31, an image processing unit 32, and a storage / reading management unit 33. Each of these units is a function or function realized by any one of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 4 operating according to a command from the CPU 201 according to the relay device program developed from the HD 204 onto the RAM 203. Means. Further, the relay device 30 has a non-volatile storage unit 3000 in which the storage of various data (or information) is maintained even when the power of the relay device 30 is turned off. This non-volatile storage unit 3000 is shown in FIG. Built with HD 204 shown.

  Next, each functional configuration of the relay device 30 will be described in detail. In the following, in describing each functional component of the relay device 30, among the components illustrated in FIG. 4, the relationship with the main components for realizing each functional configuration of the relay device 30. Also explained.

  The transmission / reception unit 31 of the relay device 30 shown in FIG. 5 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 4 and the network I / F 209 shown in FIG. Various data (or information) is transmitted / received to / from other terminals, devices or systems.

  The image processing unit 32 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 illustrated in FIG. 4, and calculates the average value (brightness) of the brightness of the image data from the image data received from the terminal 10.

  The storage / reading management unit 33 is realized by the instruction from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 4 and the HDD 205 shown in FIG. 4, and stores various data in the nonvolatile storage unit 3000, and the nonvolatile storage unit A process of reading various data stored in 3000 is performed. Note that the nonvolatile storage unit 3000 stores the IP address of the terminal 10 as a relay destination of image data.

<Functional configuration of management system>
The management system 50 includes a transmission / reception unit 51, a terminal authentication unit 52, a state management unit 53, a terminal extraction unit 54, a terminal state acquisition unit 55, a session management unit 56, an automatic connection monitoring unit 57, and a storage / read processing unit 58. doing. Each of these units is a function or function realized by any one of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 4 operating according to a command from the CPU 201 according to the management system program developed from the HD 204 onto the RAM 203. Means. Further, the management system 50 has a nonvolatile storage unit 5000 in which storage of various data (or information) is maintained even when the power of the management system 50 is turned off. This nonvolatile storage unit 5000 is shown in FIG. Built with HD 204 shown.

(Relay device management table)
In the nonvolatile storage unit 5000, a relay device management DB 5001 configured by a relay device management table as shown in FIG. 10 is constructed. In this relay device management table, for each relay device ID of each relay device 30, the operating status of each relay device 30, the reception date and time when status information indicating the operating status is received by the management system 50, and the IP address of the relay device 30 , And the maximum data transmission rate (Mbps) in the relay device 30 is managed in association with each other. For example, in the relay device management table shown in FIG. 10, the relay device 30a with the relay device ID “111a” has an operation state of “online” and the date and time when the status information was received by the management system 50 is “2009”. "November 10, 13:00" indicates that the IP address of this relay device 30a is "1.2.1.2" and that the maximum data transmission rate in this relay device 30a is 100 Mbps. Yes.

(Terminal authentication management table)
Further, in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000, a terminal authentication management DB 5002 configured by a terminal authentication management table as shown in FIG. 11 is constructed. In this terminal authentication management table, each password is associated with each terminal ID of all terminals 10 managed by the management system 50 and managed. For example, the terminal authentication management table shown in FIG. 11 indicates that the terminal ID of the terminal 10aa is “01aa” and the password is “aaaa”.

(Terminal management table)
In the nonvolatile storage unit 5000, a terminal management DB 5003 configured by a terminal management table as shown in FIG. 12 is constructed. In this terminal management table, for each terminal ID of each terminal 10, a destination name when each terminal 10 is a destination, an operating state of each terminal 10, a reception date and time when login request information described later is received by the management system 50, And the IP address of the terminal 10 is managed in association with each other. For example, in the terminal management table shown in FIG. 12, the terminal 10aa with the terminal ID “01aa” has the terminal name “Japan Tokyo Office AA terminal”, the operation state “online”, and the management system 50 It is indicated that the date and time when the login request information is received is “13:40 on November 10, 2009” and the IP address of this terminal 10aa is “1.2.1.3”.

(Destination list management table)
Further, in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000, a destination list management DB 5004 configured by a destination list management table as shown in FIG. 13 is constructed. In this destination list management table, all terminal IDs of destination terminals registered as destination terminal candidates are managed in association with terminal IDs of request source terminals that request the start of a call in a monitoring system or a video conference system. Is done. For example, in the destination list management table shown in FIG. 13, the destination terminal that can request the start of a call in the monitoring system or the video conference system from the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) whose terminal ID is “01aa”. The candidates are indicated to be a terminal 10ab having a terminal ID “01ab”, a terminal 10ba having a terminal ID “01ba”, a terminal 10bb having a terminal ID “01bb”, and the like. This destination terminal candidate is updated by being added or deleted in response to a request for addition or deletion from an arbitrary request source terminal to the management system 50.

(Session management table)
In the nonvolatile storage unit 5000, a session management DB 5005 configured by a session management table as shown in FIG. 14 is constructed. In this session management table, for each session ID used to execute a session for selecting the relay device 30, the relay device ID of the relay device 30 used for relaying image data and audio data, and the terminal ID of the request source terminal And the terminal ID of the destination terminal are managed in association with each other. For example, in the session management table shown in FIG. 14, the relay device 30a (relay device ID “111a”) selected in the session executed using the session ID “se1” has the terminal ID “01aa”. It is shown that image data and audio data are relayed between the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db) whose terminal ID is “01db”.

(Automatic connection management table)
Further, in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000, an automatic connection management DB 5006 configured by an automatic connection management table as shown in FIG. 15 is constructed. In this automatic connection management table, the time for automatic connection is managed in association with each terminal ID. For example, the automatic connection management table shown in FIG. 15 indicates that the time at which the terminal 10 with the terminal ID “01aa” performs automatic connection is “weekdays 8:00”. In this example, the management system 50 requests the terminal ID “01aa” to automatically connect to the set connection at 8:00 on weekdays.

  Next, each functional configuration of the management system 50 will be described in detail. In the following, in describing each functional component of the management system 50, among the components illustrated in FIG. 4, the main components for realizing each functional component of the management system 50 are described. Explain the relationship.

  The transmission / reception unit 51 is executed by the instruction from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 4 and the network I / F 209 shown in FIG. Or information).

  The terminal authentication unit 52 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 4, and uses a terminal ID and a password included in the login request information received via the transmission / reception unit 51 as a search key, and stores in a nonvolatile manner. The terminal authentication management DB 5002 of the unit 5000 is searched, and terminal authentication is performed by determining whether the same terminal ID and password are managed in the terminal authentication management DB 5002.

  The state management unit 53 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 4, and in order to manage the operating state of the request source terminal that has requested login, the terminal management DB 5003 stores the terminal ID and request of the request source terminal. The operating state of the source terminal, the reception date and time when the login request information is received by the management system 50, and the IP address of the request source terminal are stored and managed in association with each other. In addition, the state management unit 53 manages the terminal based on the state information sent from the terminal 10 to turn off the power when the user turns off the power switch 109 of the terminal 10 from the ON state. The operation state indicating online of the DB 5003 is changed to offline.

  The terminal extraction unit 54 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 illustrated in FIG. 4, and searches the destination list management DB 5004 using the terminal ID of the request source terminal that requested the login as a key to make a call with the request source terminal. The terminal ID is extracted by reading the terminal IDs of possible destination terminals. Further, the terminal extraction unit 54 searches the destination list management DB 5004 using the terminal ID of the request source terminal that has requested the login as a key, and other requests that register the terminal ID of the request source terminal as candidates for the destination terminal. The terminal ID of the original terminal is also extracted.

  The terminal status acquisition unit 55 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 4 and searches the terminal management DB 5003 using the destination terminal candidate terminal ID extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 as a search key. The operating state is read for each terminal ID extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54. Thereby, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 can acquire the operating state of the candidate destination terminal that can make a call with the request source terminal that has requested the login. Further, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 searches the terminal management DB 5003 using the terminal ID extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 as a search key, and also acquires the operating state of the request source terminal that has requested login.

  The session management unit 56 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 illustrated in FIG. 6, and the session management DB 5005 of the nonvolatile storage unit 5000 stores the relay device ID of the relay device 30 that relays image data and audio data, and the session The ID, the terminal ID of the request source terminal, and the terminal ID of the destination terminal are associated and stored and managed.

  The automatic connection monitoring unit 57 is executed by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 4 and refers to the value of the “time” field indicating the time for automatic connection in the automatic connection management table of the automatic connection management DB 5006. When the current time matches the value of the “time” field of the automatic connection management table, the connection to the terminal 10 having the corresponding terminal ID stored in the automatic connection management table is made via the transmission / reception unit 51. Send instructions.

The storage / read processing unit 58 is executed by the instruction from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 4 and the HDD 205 shown in FIG. 4, and stores various data in the nonvolatile storage unit 5000 or the nonvolatile storage unit A process of reading various data stored in 5000 is performed.

<Details of processing>
Next, details of processing in the transmission system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 to 22.

  First, the transmission / reception process of each management information in the preparatory stage before starting connection between terminal 10aa and terminal 10db is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram of an example of a preparation stage process for starting a connection between terminals according to the present embodiment.

  The user (user) turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 3, and the operation input receiving unit 12 shown in FIG. 5 receives the power ON and turns on the power (step S11). . The login request unit 13 automatically transmits login request information indicating a login request from the transmission / reception unit 11 to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 in response to reception of the power ON (step S12). This login request information includes a terminal ID and a password for identifying the terminal 10aa which is the own terminal as a request source. These terminal ID and password are data read from the nonvolatile storage unit 1000 via the storage / reading processing unit 22 and sent to the transmission / reception unit 11. When the login request information is transmitted from the terminal 10aa to the management system 50, the management system 50 that is the receiving side can grasp the IP address of the terminal 10aa that is the transmitting side.

  Next, the terminal authentication unit 52 of the management system 50 searches the terminal authentication management DB 5002 of the nonvolatile storage unit 5000 using the terminal ID and password included in the login request information received via the transmission / reception unit 51 as search keys. Then, terminal authentication is performed by determining whether the same terminal ID and password are managed in the terminal authentication management DB 5002 (step S13). Since the same terminal ID and password are managed by the terminal authentication unit 52, if it is determined that the login request is from the terminal 10 having a valid usage right, the state management unit 53 For each record indicated by the terminal ID and destination name of the terminal 10aa, the operation status, the reception date and time when the login request information is received, and the IP address of the terminal 10aa are stored in the DB 5003 (step S14). Accordingly, in the terminal management table shown in FIG. 12, the terminal ID “01aa”, the operation state “online”, the reception date and time “2009.11.10.13:40”, and the terminal IP address “1.2” are displayed. .1.3 "will be managed in association with each other.

  Then, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 sends the authentication result information indicating the authentication result obtained by the terminal authentication unit 52 via the communication network 2 to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that made the login request. (Step S15). In the present embodiment, the case where the terminal authentication unit 52 determines that the terminal has a valid use authority will be described below.

  When the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the authentication result information indicating the result determined to be a terminal having a valid use authority, the transmission / reception unit 11 sends the destination to the management system 50 via the communication network 2. Destination list request information indicating that a list is requested is transmitted (step S16). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 receives the destination list request information.

  Next, the terminal extraction unit 54 searches the destination list management DB 5004 using the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login as a search key, and can make a call with the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). Extraction is performed by reading out terminal IDs of possible destination terminals and destination names corresponding to the terminal IDs (step S17). Here, the terminal IDs (“01ab”, “01ba”, “01db”,...) Of the destination terminals (10ab, 10ba, 10bb,...) Corresponding to the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). And terminal names corresponding to these ("Japan Tokyo Office AB Terminal", "Japan Osaka Office BA Terminal", "America Washington Office DB Terminal", ...) are extracted.

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 transmits the destination list information including the terminal ID and the destination name extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) (step S18). The destination list information is, for example, a list of terminal IDs and destination names extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 arranged in a list format. In the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), the transmission / reception unit 11 receives the destination list information, and the storage / reading processing unit 22 stores the destination list information in the volatile storage unit 2000 (step S19).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the destination list information is not managed by each terminal 10, but the management system 50 centrally manages the destination list information of all terminals. Therefore, a new terminal 10 is included in the transmission system 1, a new model terminal 10 is included instead of the already included terminal 10, or the appearance of the destination list frame is changed. In this case, since the management system 50 copes collectively, it is possible to save the trouble of changing the destination list information on each terminal 10 side.

  Further, the terminal status acquisition unit 55 of the management system 50 uses the terminal IDs of the destination terminal candidates (“01ab”, “01ba”, “01db”,...) Extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 as search keys. By searching the management DB 5003 and reading out the corresponding operating state for each terminal ID extracted by the terminal extracting unit 54, the respective operating states of the terminals (10ab, 10ba, 10bb,...) As destination candidates are acquired. (Step S20).

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 51 includes the terminal ID “01ab” as the search key used in step S17 and the operation state “online (call possible)” of the corresponding destination terminal (terminal 10ab). "Terminal status information" is transmitted to the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) via the communication network 2 (step S21). Similarly, as part of step S21, the transmission / reception unit 51 includes “terminal status information” including the terminal ID “01ba” and the operation status “online (temporary suspension)” of the corresponding destination terminal (terminal 10ba). The remaining “terminal status information” is also individually transmitted to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa).

Next, the storage / read processing unit 22 of the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) and the terminal status information received from the management system 50 are sequentially stored in the volatile storage unit 2000 (step S22). Therefore, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the status information of each of the terminals, so that each of the current times of the terminal 10ab and the like that are candidates for the destination terminal that can talk to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) is obtained. Next, the destination list creation unit 21 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) can obtain the destination based on the destination list information stored in the volatile storage unit 2000 and the terminal state information. A destination list reflecting the state of the terminal 10 as a candidate is created, and the display control unit 16 displays the destination list on the display 120 shown in FIG. 3 (step S23).

  In this way, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) can cause the display 120 to display the destination list of the monitored terminal (destination terminal). In addition, since the operation status of the destination terminal can be displayed in the destination list, the user can know whether or not the user can connect to the destination terminal.

  Next, a process for starting a call (connection) between a plurality of terminals 10 will be described. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing at a stage of starting connection between a plurality of terminals according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) can make a call with a terminal whose operation state is online based on the terminal state information received in step S21 among the terminals 10 as destination candidates. (You can monitor terminals that are online.) Therefore, hereinafter, a case where the user (user) of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) selects the terminal 10db as the destination terminal will be described.

  First, when the user selects the terminal 10db by pressing the operation button 108 shown in FIG. 3, the operation input reception unit 12 shown in FIG. 5 requests to start connection (call) with the terminal 10db. Is received (step S31). Then, the transmission / reception unit 11 of the terminal 10aa includes the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db), and indicates that the connection (call) is to be started. The start request information shown is transmitted to the management system 50 (step S32). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 receives the start request information and grasps the IP address “1.2.1.3” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that is the transmission source. . Here, the management system 50 may inquire of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) whether to permit connection from the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). That is, the management system 50 transmits a connection request to the destination terminal (terminal 10db), and the destination terminal (terminal 10db) receives the request and selects whether to permit or not permit the connection to the display 120. May be displayed to allow the user to select.

  Then, based on the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) included in the start request information, the state management unit 53 determines the terminal management table of the terminal management DB 5003. , The field portion of the operation state of the record including the terminal ID “01aa” and the terminal ID “01db” is changed to “busy” (step S33). In this state, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db) have not started a call (connection) but are in a call state, and the other terminal 10 is in the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). Alternatively, when an attempt is made to connect (call) with the destination terminal (terminal 10db), a sound or display indicating a so-called busy state is output.

  Next, the session management unit 56 shown in FIG. 5 generates a session ID (step S33). Here, it is assumed that “se1” is generated as the session ID. The generated session ID “se1”, the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), and the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) are stored in association with the session management DB 5005. to manage. Furthermore, the session management unit 56 is a relay device suitable for communication between the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db) among the relay devices 30 whose operation state is “online” from the relay device management DB 5001. 30 (here, it is assumed that the relay device 30a is determined), and the relay device 30a and the session ID “se1” generated in step S31 are stored in association with the session management DB 5005 and managed. In the above, the method for determining the relay device 30 is, for example, when the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db) communicate, select the relay device 30 on the network with the widest communication band. The method of doing etc. can be considered.

  Then, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 receives the session ID “se1” generated in step S34 and the IP address “1.2.1.2” of the relay device 30a determined in step S36. 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db) (steps S37 and S38). The IP address of the relay device 30a can be acquired from the relay device management DB 5001 via the storage / read processing unit 58. Thereby, a session is established between the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db) (step S40).

  Thereafter, image data and audio data are transmitted and received between the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db) through the relay device 30a using the session established in step S40. . When the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) is used as the monitoring system, the image data is transmitted from the destination terminal (terminal 10db) via the relay device 30a using the session established in step S40.

  Next, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) automatically disconnects from the destination terminal (terminal 10db) based on the image data transmitted from the destination terminal (terminal 10db), and the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) Processing for turning off the power will be described. That is, when the brightness of the image data received by the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) is equal to or lower than the threshold value, for example, when the destination terminal (terminal 10db) is installed at night, the request source terminal The (terminal 10aa) automatically disconnects from the destination terminal (terminal 10db) and turns off its own power supply. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the generation of useless call charges and the generation of network traffic due to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) being continuously connected to the destination terminal (terminal 10db) regardless of the night. FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram of an example of the automatic cutting process according to the present embodiment.

  The request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives, for example, the image data captured by the camera 112 of the destination terminal (terminal 10db), so that the destination terminal (terminal 10db) is installed (for example, the destination terminal (terminal 10db). ) Is monitored. At this time, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the relay device 30a receives the image data transmitted from the destination terminal (terminal 10db) using the session established in step S40 (step S51). Then, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the relay device 30a transmits the received image data to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) using the session established in step S40 (step S52). That is, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db) transmit and receive data via the relay device 30a.

  At this time, when the transmission / reception unit 11 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the image data from the destination terminal (terminal 10db) via the relay device 30a, the volatile storage via the storage / reading processing unit 22 is performed. Stored in the unit 2000. The image data stored in the volatile storage unit 2000 is sequentially displayed on the display 120 under the control of the display control unit 16. Thereby, the user of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) can monitor the place where the destination terminal (terminal 10db) is installed.

  The image processing unit 32 of the relay device 30 (relay device 30a) calculates the average value (brightness) of the brightness of the image data received from the destination terminal (terminal 10db) (step S53). The converted image data is converted into monochrome image data, the brightness (for example, a value of 0 to 255) of each pixel of the monochrome image data is summed, and the total value is divided by the number of pixels of the image data. To calculate the average value of brightness. The image processing unit 32 calculates the average value of the brightness of the image data as described above at a predetermined interval (for example, every minute).

  Then, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the relay device 30 (relay device 30a) transmits the average value of the brightness of the image data calculated in step S53 to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa).

  When the transmission / reception unit 11 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the average value of the brightness of the image data from the relay device 30 (relay device 30a), the transmission / reception unit 11 requests the brightness determination unit 17 to perform processing. Then, the brightness determination unit 17 refers to the value of the “brightness threshold” field of the condition setting table of the condition setting management DB 1001, and the average value of the brightness of the image data received from the relay device 30 (relay device 30 a) is this value. It is determined whether or not it is equal to or less than a threshold value (step S35). Hereinafter, a case where the lightness determination unit 17 determines that the average value of lightness received from the relay device 30 (relay device 30a) is equal to or less than a threshold value will be described.

  Then, the lightness determination unit 17 refers to the value of the “exception time” field in the condition setting table of the condition setting management DB 1001 to determine whether or not the current time corresponds to the value set in the “exception time” field. To do. As a result, even when the average value of the brightness is below the threshold value due to the illumination being turned off in a predetermined time zone (for example, a time zone such as lunch break), the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) in this time zone It is possible to prevent the power from being turned off.

  When the current time corresponds to the value set in the “exception time” field, or in the above, the lightness determination unit 17 determines that the average value of lightness received from the relay device 30 (relay device 30a) is larger than the threshold value. In this case, the processes in subsequent steps S56 to S63 are not performed, and the processes in steps S51 to S55 are repeatedly executed.

  The brightness determination unit 17 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) requests the display control unit 16 to display a message (step S56). Then, the display control unit 16 causes the display 120 to display, for example, a message with the message ID “0001” from the message management DB 1002 via the storage / read processing unit 22. For example, the display control unit 16 displays a message as shown in FIG.

  Next, the lightness determination unit 17 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) obtains the availability of automatic connection, the connection destination, and the time of automatic connection from the condition setting management DB 1001 via the storage / read processing unit 22 (step) S57). That is, the brightness determination unit 17 acquires the value of the “automatic connection” field, the value of the “connection destination” field, and the value of the “time” field of the condition setting table via the storage / reading processing unit 22.

  At this time, if the value of the “automatic connection” field is “0: no” indicating that automatic connection is not to be performed, the processing in the subsequent steps S59 to S62 is not performed, and normal connection termination processing is performed. That is, at this time, the transmission / reception unit 11 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) transmits information indicating the end of connection to the management system 50. The management system 50 also transmits information indicating the end of connection to the destination terminal (terminal 10db) and the relay device 30 (relay device 30a), and establishes a connection between the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db). Terminate. Hereinafter, the description will be continued assuming that the value of the “automatic connection” field is “1: do” indicating that automatic connection is performed.

  The storage / read processing unit 22 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) stores the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) in the nonvolatile storage unit 1000. (Step S58). This is because the terminal 10aa can resume the connection with the terminal 10db (transmit the connection start request again) in the automatic connection process described later.

  The transmission / reception unit 11 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) transmits connection termination information to the management system 50, and terminates the connection between the management system 50 and the relay device 30 (relay device 30a). (Step S59). The connection end information includes information indicating that the connection is to be ended, the time when the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) automatically connects to the destination terminal (terminal 10db), the request time value, and the request The terminal ID “01aa” of the original terminal (terminal 10aa) and the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) are included. The connection end information is, for example, a table as shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 19, the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) are set in the “terminal ID” field. In the “connection end” field, information “1” indicating that the connection is ended is set. In the “connection start” field, “1” indicating that the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) automatically restarts the connection at the time set in the “automatic connection time” field is set. The “use” and “monitoring” fields are information indicating how the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) is set. In this example, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) is used for monitoring and is set as a terminal of a monitoring terminal (terminal that receives image data from a destination terminal).

  When the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 receives the connection end information, the information indicating that the connection is ended, the terminal ID of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), the destination terminal ( The terminal ID of the terminal 10db) is transmitted to the destination terminal (terminal 10db) (step S60). When receiving the information indicating that the connection is to be terminated, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the destination terminal (10db) performs a process for terminating the connection and terminates the connection with the relay device 30 (relay device 30a).

  The storage / read processing unit 58 of the management system 50 is set in the terminal ID “01aa” of the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) in the “terminal ID” field and the “automatic connection time” field included in the connection end information. The time is stored and managed in the automatic connection management DB. Thereby, as will be described later, the management system 50 can issue an activation instruction and a connection instruction to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) when the automatic connection time stored here is reached.

  The power control unit 18 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) turns off the power of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) (step S63). The power control unit 18 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) The request source terminal (terminal 10aa) may be shifted to a power saving state such as a sleep mode or a power saving state.

  As described above, the average value of the brightness of the image data transmitted from the destination terminal (terminal 10db) has become equal to or less than a predetermined threshold due to the location where the destination terminal (terminal 10db) is installed at night. In this case, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) terminates the connection with the destination terminal (terminal 10db). Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of useless call charges and generation | occurrence | production of network traffic can be prevented.

  At this time, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) performs processing for resuming the connection with the destination terminal (terminal 10db) at a predetermined time (for example, 8:00 in the morning), for example. Thereby, in the automatic connection process described later, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) can resume the connection with the destination terminal (terminal 10db).

  Next, a process in which the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) in FIG. 18 resumes the connection with the destination terminal (terminal 10db) after the automatic disconnection process in FIG. FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of automatic connection processing according to the present embodiment.

  The automatic connection monitoring unit 57 of the management system 50 constantly monitors the value (time) of the “automatic connection time” field of the automatic connection management DB 2006 and the current time. Then, the automatic connection monitoring unit 57 determines whether or not the current time matches the value (time) of the “automatic connection time” field (step S71). Note that if the automatic connection monitoring unit 57 determines that the current time does not match the value (time) of the “automatic connection time” field, nothing is done. Hereinafter, a case will be described in which the automatic connection monitoring unit 57 determines that the current time matches the value (time) of the “automatic connection time” field.

  The transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 resumes the connection with the destination terminal (terminal 10db) and the start instruction for turning on the power of the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) to the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa). A connection instruction for transmitting is transmitted (step S72). For example, Wake-on-LAN can be used for the activation instruction.

  When the transmission / reception unit 11 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the activation instruction and the connection instruction, the power supply control unit 18 turns on the power of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). Then, the storage / read processing unit 22 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) acquires the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) as the connection destination information from the nonvolatile storage unit 2000 (step S74).

  The transmission / reception unit 11 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) transmits a connection start request (connection resumption request) to the management system 50 (step S74). The connection start request includes the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) acquired in step S73 and the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). And the transmission / reception part 51 of the management system 50 will grasp | ascertain the IP address of this request origin terminal (terminal 10aa), if a connection start request | requirement is received from a request origin terminal (terminal 10aa).

  The transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 includes a connection start request including the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db), and the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). Is transmitted to the destination terminal (terminal 10db) (step S75). Prior to this, the management system 50 searches the terminal management DB 5003 using the terminal ID “01db” of the received destination terminal (terminal 10db) as a search key, and grasps the IP address of the destination terminal (terminal 10db). At this time, if the IP address of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) stored in the terminal management DB 5003 is different from the IP address of the received request source terminal (terminal 10aa), the IP address of the terminal ID “01aa” Is updated (overwritten).

  Note that the connection start request in steps S74 and S75 includes information indicating that the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) is a connection start (restart) request by the automatic activation process after the automatic disconnection process in FIG. For example, a flag indicating that resumption of connection with the terminal 10ddb) is requested. In this way, a normal connection start request may be distinguished from a connection start request (connection resumption request) by the automatic activation process after the automatic disconnection process of FIG.

  The resumption permission determination unit 20 of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) permits automatic connection by referring to the value of the “automatic connection permission / rejection” field of the condition setting table of the condition setting management DB 1001 via the storage / read processing unit 22. It is determined whether or not the setting is made (step S76). That is, the resumption permission determination unit 20 of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) refers to the “automatic connection permission / rejection” field of the condition setting table and responds to a connection request from another terminal 10, for example, the destination terminal (terminal 10db). It is determined whether or not it is set to automatically permit connection without requiring an operation instruction for permission / non-permission by the user. Then, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) transmits the determination result of the restart permission determination unit 20 to the management system 50 (step S77). Thereafter, if the determination result by the restart permission / inhibition determination unit 20 is information indicating that permission is not permitted, steps S78 and S79 are performed. If the determination result by the restart permission / rejection determination unit 20 is information indicating permission, steps S80 and S79 are performed. S81 is performed.

  Note that, for example, if the destination terminal (terminal 10db) cannot be connected because the power is off, for example, steps S78 and S79 are performed. The same applies to the case where there is no response for a predetermined time (timeout) after the management system 50 transmits a connection start request to the destination terminal (10db), for example.

  When the determination result by the restart permission determination unit 20 is information indicating that permission is not permitted, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 transmits information indicating that connection is not permitted to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) ( Step S78). When the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the information indicating that the connection is not permitted, the display control unit 16 displays a message indicating that the connection as illustrated in FIG. It is displayed (step S79).

  When the determination result by the resumption permission / rejection determination unit 20 is information indicating permission, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 transmits information indicating that connection is permitted (connection resumption response) to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). In step S80, a session is established between the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (10db) (step S81). Although not described here, the management system 50 determines the relay device 30 that relays communication between the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (10db) before or after the process of step S80. The determined IP address of the relay device 30 is notified to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (10db).

  As described above, after the processing in FIG. 18, the request source terminal can resume connection with the destination terminal. Thus, for example, the requesting terminal can turn off the power at night to end the connection with the destination terminal, and can turn on the power at the morning to resume the connection with the destination terminal. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user to manually turn on the power of the request source terminal and reconnect to the destination terminal, thereby saving the user's trouble.

  The transmission / reception unit 11 is an example of a reception unit, a restart request unit, and a connection restart unit. The brightness determination unit 17 is an example of a determination unit. The power control unit 18 and the transmission / reception unit 11 are an example of a transition unit. The condition setting unit 19 is an example of a restart condition setting unit. The restart permission / rejection determination unit 20 is an example of a restart determination unit. The transmission / reception unit 31 is an example of a transmission unit. The image processing unit 32 is an example of brightness information generating means.

  The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transmission system 2 Communication network 10 Transmission terminal 11 Transmission / reception part 12 Operation input reception part 13 Login request part 14 Imaging part 15a Voice input part 15b Voice output part 16 Display control part 17 Lightness determination part 18 Power supply control part 19 Condition setting part 20 Resume Permission determination unit 21 Destination list creation unit 22 Storage / read processing unit 30 Relay device 31 Transmission / reception unit 32 Image processing unit 50 Transmission management system 51 Transmission / reception unit 57 Automatic connection monitoring unit 1001 Condition setting management DB
1002 Message management DB
5006 Automatic connection management DB

JP 2011-205612 A JP 2000-295592 A

Claims (8)

A transmission terminal for transmitting image data,
Receiving means for receiving information about the brightness of image data transmitted from another transmission terminal;
Determination means for determining whether or not the information about the brightness received by the receiving means satisfies a predetermined condition;
Transition means for disconnecting the connection with the other transmission terminal and shifting the transmission terminal to a predetermined state when the determination means determines that the information on the brightness satisfies the predetermined condition;
A transmission terminal.   When the determination unit determines that the information on the brightness satisfies the predetermined condition, the transition unit disconnects from the other transmission terminal, and the transmission terminal is turned off or saved. The transmission terminal according to claim 1, wherein the transmission terminal is shifted to a power state. The information on the brightness is an average value of brightness in each pixel of the image data,
The transmission terminal according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether the average value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. Resumption request means for transmitting a connection resumption request for resuming connection with the other transmission terminal that has been disconnected;
Resumption condition setting means for setting a condition for transmitting a connection resumption request to the other transmission terminal,
The transmission terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the restart request unit transmits the connection restart request when the condition set by the restart condition setting unit is satisfied. A transmission system having two or more transmission terminals for transmitting image data,
Brightness information generating means for generating information about the brightness of the image data transmitted from the first transmission terminal;
Transmitting means for transmitting information relating to the brightness generated by the brightness information generating means to a second transmission terminal;
Receiving means for receiving information on the brightness transmitted by the transmitting means;
Determination means for determining whether or not the information about the brightness received by the receiving means satisfies a predetermined condition;
A transition unit that disconnects the connection with the first transmission terminal and shifts the second transmission terminal to a predetermined state when the determination unit determines that the information on the brightness satisfies the predetermined condition; ,
A transmission system. Resumption request means for transmitting a connection resumption request for resuming the connection with the first transmission terminal that has been disconnected;
Resumption condition setting means for setting a condition for transmitting a connection resumption request to the first transmission terminal,
The transmission system according to claim 5, wherein the restart request unit transmits the connection restart request when the condition set by the restart condition setting unit is satisfied. In response to the received connection resumption request, a connection resumption means for transmitting a connection resumption response to the second transmission terminal and resuming the connection with the second transmission terminal;
Resumption determining means for determining whether resumption of connection with the second transmission terminal is permitted or not when receiving the connection resumption request;
The connection resumption means transmits a connection resumption response to the second transmission terminal when the resumption judgment means determines that resumption of connection with the second transmission terminal is permitted, The transmission system according to claim 6, wherein the connection with the transmission terminal is resumed. A transmission terminal that transmits image data
Receiving means for receiving information about the brightness of image data transmitted from another transmission terminal;
Determining means for determining whether or not the information on the brightness received by the receiving means satisfies a predetermined condition;
Transition means for disconnecting the connection with the other transmission terminal and shifting the transmission terminal to a predetermined state when the determination means determines that the information on the brightness satisfies the predetermined condition.
Program to function as.

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