JP2017126985A5 - - Google Patents

Description

Communication system, communication method, communication management system, communication management method, and program

  The present invention relates to an invention for managing first and second communication terminals that transmit and receive predetermined communication data.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, along with a request to reduce business trip expenses and business trip time, a telephone system for performing a video conference or the like via a communication network such as the Internet has become widespread. In such a call system, a video conference can be realized by transmitting and receiving image data and sound data among a plurality of call terminals.

  In addition to a type of call system that directly transmits and receives image data and sound data between call terminals, a video conference that uses a plurality of relay devices for relaying image data and sound data between a plurality of call terminals. A system has appeared (see Patent Document 1).

  However, in the conventional video conference call system, it is impossible to realize a call between call terminals using different call methods. That is, as a case where the call method is different, at least one of a call control method (call control protocol) for connecting or disconnecting a call destination and an encoding method for converting image data and sound data into IP packets is provided. When one is different, the subject that a telephone call between telephone terminals cannot be realized arises.

The invention according to claim 1
It is connected via a communication network to a conversion system that enables mutual use between the first communication method and a second communication method different from the first communication method by converting communication data. A relay device that relays communication data using the first communication method; and
A first communication terminal that transmits and receives communication data using the first communication method according to a session established with the relay device;
A communication system comprising:
The first communication terminal is
A first operation for starting transmission / reception of communication data with another communication terminal that uses the same communication method as the first communication method can be accepted, and is different from the first communication method. Operation accepting means capable of accepting a second operation for starting transmission / reception of communication data with a second communication terminal using the communication method of 2;
Have
The communication system is
When the first operation is received by the operation receiving unit, the first communication terminal establishes a session with the relay device by establishing a session between the relay device and the first communication terminal. When the communication data is transmitted / received to / from the other communication terminal that has established the communication system without passing through the conversion system, and the second operation is received by the operation reception unit, the relay device and the second operation When the first communication terminal establishes a session via the conversion system with the second communication terminal corresponding to the address information input in the first communication terminal when the first communication terminal is received, the first communication terminal A communication system, wherein communication data is transmitted / received via a second communication terminal, the relay device, and the conversion system.

  As described above, according to the present invention, each destination information of the first communication terminal, the conversion system, and the second communication terminal is transmitted from the communication management system to the relay apparatus. Thereby, the relay device establishes the first communication session with the first communication terminal, and further establishes the second communication session with the conversion system that converts the call method of the call data. Can be made. Further, the relay apparatus transmits the destination information of the second communication terminal received from the communication management system to the conversion system, so that the conversion system establishes a third communication session with the second communication terminal. can do.

  Accordingly, it is possible to transmit and receive call data between the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal using the first to third communication sessions. As a result, even if the first and second communication terminals use different communication methods, the communication data communication method is mutually converted by the conversion system, so that communication can be realized. .

1 is a schematic diagram of a call system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the communication condition in the case of implement | achieving a call between the call terminals of the same communication system. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating image quality of image data transmitted and received according to the SVC standard in FIGS. 2 and 4. It is the conceptual diagram which showed the communication condition in the case of implement | achieving a call between the call terminals of a different communication system. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating image quality of image data transmitted and received according to the AVC standard in FIG. 4. It is an external view of the call terminal which concerns on this embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the telephone terminal which concerns on this embodiment. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a call management system, a relay device, a conversion system, a program providing system, or a maintenance system according to the present embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of a call terminal, a relay device, a call management system, and a conversion system that constitute a part of the call system of the embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a change quality management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a relay apparatus management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a terminal information management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a terminal state management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a destination list management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a session management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a conversion management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a quality management table. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process of the preparation stage which starts a telephone call between terminals. It is a sequence diagram showing a call start request. It is a flowchart which shows judgment of a communication system. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process which establishes a communication session before performing a telephone call between two dedicated terminals. It is the sequence diagram which showed the process which transmits / receives call data between two dedicated terminals. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process which establishes a communication session before performing a telephone call between a dedicated terminal and a non-dedicated terminal. It is the sequence diagram which showed the process which transmits / receives call data between a dedicated terminal and a non-dedicated terminal. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the image quality of the image data after converting with the conversion system.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

<< Overall Configuration of Embodiment >>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a call system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the call system 1 includes a plurality of call terminals (10aa, 10ab,...), A display (120aa, 120ab,...) For each call terminal (10aa, 10ab,. The relay apparatus (30a, 30b, 30c), the call management system 50, the conversion system 80, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 are constructed. By the communication of the image data and the sound data as an example of the call data by the call system 1, a video conference between remote locations can be realized. A plurality of routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d, 70ab, 70cd) select an optimum route for call data.

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

  On the other hand, the call terminals (10ca, 10cb, 10cc,...), The relay device 30c, and the router 70c are communicably connected via a LAN 2c. The call terminals (10da, 10db, 10dc,...), The conversion system 80, and the router 70d are communicably connected via a LAN 2d. The LAN 2c and the LAN 2d are communicably connected by a dedicated line 2cd including a router 70cd. Further, the LAN 2c, the LAN 2d, and the dedicated line 2cd are constructed in a predetermined area Y. For example, region Y 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 X and area Y are connected to each other via routers (70ab, 70cd) via the Internet 2i.

  In the following, “call terminal” is simply represented as “terminal”, and “call 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 represented as “display 120”. An arbitrary relay device among the plurality of relay devices (30a, 30b, 30c) is represented as “relay device 30”. Further, a terminal as a request source that requests the start of a video conference is represented as a “request source terminal”, and a terminal as a request destination (relay destination) is represented as a “destination terminal”. An arbitrary router among the routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d, 70ab, 70cd) is represented as “router 70”.

  The management system 50, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 are connected to the Internet 2i. In this embodiment, the conversion system 80 is connected to the router 70d in the LAN 2d in the region Y. The management system 50, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 may be installed in the region X or the region Y, or may be installed in other regions.

  In the present embodiment, the communication network 2 of the present embodiment is constructed by the LAN 2a, the LAN 2b, the dedicated line 2ab, the Internet 2i, the dedicated line 2cd, the LAN 2c, and the 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.

  Further, in FIG. 1, the four sets of numbers shown under each terminal 10, each relay device 30, management system 50, each router 70, conversion system 80, program providing system 90, and maintenance system 100 are general A simple IP address in IPv4 is shown. For example, the IP address of the terminal 10aa is “1.2.1.3”. In addition, IPv6 may be used instead of IPv4. However, in order to simplify the explanation, explanation is made using IPv4.

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

  Each terminal 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a terminal that realizes a user's call by transmitting and receiving call data, and is, for example, a video conference terminal. Further, the terminal 10 transmits and receives call data using a predetermined communication method (call control method for connecting or disconnecting a call destination and an encoding method for converting call data into an IP packet). Do.

  This call control method includes (1) SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), (2) H.323, (3) SIP extended protocol, (4) Instant Messenger protocol, (5) SIP MESSAGE method (6) Internet relay chat protocol (IRC (Internet Relay Chat)), (7) Protocol that extends the instant messenger protocol, and the like. Among these, (4) Instant Messenger protocol is, for example, (4-1) XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), or (4-2) ICQ (registered trademark), AIM (registered trademark), or Skype (registered) Trademark). Also, (7) Jingle is a protocol that is an extension of the instant messenger protocol, for example.

  Further, among the plurality of terminals 10, for example, a communication method in which the call control method is an instant messenger protocol (or a protocol obtained by extending the instant messenger protocol) and the encoding method is SVC (Scalable Video Coding) is used. The terminal 10 to be displayed is represented as “dedicated terminal A”. Further, among the plurality of terminals 10, the terminal 10 that uses a communication method in which at least one of the call control method and the coding method is different from the dedicated terminal A is represented as “non-dedicated terminal D”. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as an example of two terminals having different communication methods, “dedicated terminal A” is described as a terminal manufactured, sold, or managed by a specific company, and “non-dedicated terminal D” is A terminal that is manufactured, sold, or managed by a company other than the specific company will be described. In the present embodiment, terminals manufactured, sold, or managed by different companies in this way often have different communication methods, and thus will be described using the above example. In addition, as an example of two terminals with different communication methods, among terminals manufactured or sold by the same company, a terminal with a new manufacturing time or sales time is referred to as “dedicated terminal A”, and a terminal with an old manufacturing time or sales time is It may be a “non-dedicated terminal D”.

  Each relay device 30 is a computer system that relays call data among a plurality of terminals 10. The management system 50 is a computer system that centrally manages login authentication from the terminal 10, management of the call status of the terminal 10, management of the destination list, and the communication status of the relay device 30. The image of the image data may be a moving image or a still image, or both a moving image and a still image.

  The conversion system 80 also functions as a Signaling Gateway that converts call control signals and a Video / Audio Gateway that encodes call data. That is, the conversion system 80 is a gateway that mutually converts the communication method of the call data transmitted from the request source terminal and the communication method (call control method, encoding method) of the call data transmitted from the destination terminal. At least one of the call control method and the coding method is converted.

  The program providing system 90 is a computer system that provides the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the management system 50, the conversion system 80, and the maintenance system 100, respectively, with programs used by the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the conversion system 80, and the maintenance system 100.

  The maintenance system 100 is a computer system for performing maintenance, management, or maintenance of at least one of the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the management system 50, the conversion system 80, 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, the conversion system 80, or the program providing system 90 is installed outside the country, the maintenance system 100 is connected via the communication network 2. Then, maintenance such as maintenance, management, and maintenance of at least one of the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the management system 50, the conversion system 80, and the program providing system 90 is performed remotely. In addition, the maintenance system 100 does not go through the communication network 2 but includes a model number, a manufacturing number, and a sales destination in at least one of the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the management system 50, the conversion system 80, and the program providing system 90. Maintenance such as maintenance inspection or failure history management.

  Next, a first communication pattern for realizing a call between the two dedicated terminals A will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a communication state when a call is realized between call terminals of the same communication method.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the first communication pattern, the call system 1 communicates call data using the video coding standard of H.264 / SVC. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, in the call system 1, various types of information are transmitted between the request source terminal as the dedicated terminal A and the destination terminal as the dedicated terminal A via the management system 50. A management communication session sei for transmitting / receiving management information is established. Further, between the request source terminal and the destination terminal, four pieces of data of high resolution image data, medium resolution image data, low resolution image data, and sound data are transmitted and received via the relay device 30. The four communication sessions are established.

  In FIG. 2, four communication sessions established between the request source terminal and the relay device 30 are shown as a first communication session sed1 for call data. Also, the four communication sessions established between the relay device 30 and the destination terminal are shown as a second communication session sed2 for call data.

  Here, the resolution of the image data handled in the first communication pattern shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the image quality of image data transmitted and received according to the SVC standard in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the horizontal image is composed of 160 pixels and the vertical image is 120 pixels, and a low-resolution image serving as a base image and a horizontal image as illustrated in FIG. 3 (b). There are a medium resolution image consisting of 320 pixels and 240 pixels vertically, and a high resolution image consisting of 640 pixels horizontally and 480 pixels vertically as shown in FIG. Among these, in the case of passing through a narrow band route, low-quality image data consisting only of low-resolution image data serving as a base image is relayed by the relay device 30. When the band is relatively wide, the relay device 30 relays low-resolution image data serving as a base image and medium-quality image data including medium-resolution image data. When the bandwidth is very wide, high-resolution image data including low-resolution image data, medium-resolution image data, and high-resolution image data serving as a base image is relayed by the relay device 30.

  Next, a second communication pattern for realizing a call between the dedicated terminal A and the non-dedicated terminal D will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a communication situation when a call is realized between call terminals of different communication methods.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the second communication pattern, the call system 1 uses the H.264 / SVC video coding standard and the H.264 / AVC (Advanced Video Coding) video coding standard. Call data is communicated using standards. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, in the call system 1, between the request source terminal as the dedicated terminal A and the destination terminal as the non-dedicated terminal D, via the management system 50, A management communication session sei for transmitting and receiving various types of management information is established.

  In addition, between the request source terminal (an example of the first communication terminal) and the conversion system 80, high-resolution image data, medium-resolution image data, low-resolution data are transmitted by the H.264 / SVC via the relay device 30. Four communication sessions for transmitting and receiving each of the four pieces of image data of resolution and sound data are established. In FIG. 4, four communication sessions established between the request source terminal and the relay device 30 are shown as a first communication session sed11 for call data. Further, four communication sessions established between the relay device 30 and the conversion system 80 are shown as a second communication session sed12 for call data.

  Further, between the conversion system 80 and the destination terminal (an example of the second communication terminal), two communications for transmitting and receiving each of the two data of medium resolution image data and sound data by H.264 / AVC. A session is established. In FIG. 4, two communication sessions established between the conversion system 80 and the destination terminal are shown as a third communication session sed13 for call data.

  Here, the image resolution of the image data handled in the second communication pattern shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the image quality of image data transmitted and received according to the AVC standard in FIG.

  As in the first communication session sed1 and the second communication session sed2 shown in FIG. 2, the first communication session sed11 and the second communication session sed12 shown in FIG. Image data having the three resolutions shown in a), (b), and (c) are transmitted and received. On the other hand, in the third communication session sed13 shown in FIG. 4, medium-resolution image data shown in FIG. 5 is transmitted and received.

<< Hardware Configuration of Embodiment >>
Next, the hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is an external view of the call terminal according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, 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. As a result, by driving a cooling fan built in the housing 1100, the outside air behind the terminal 10 can be taken in via an intake surface (not shown) and exhausted to the rear of the terminal 10 via an exhaust surface 1121. A sound collecting hole 1131 is formed in the right 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) to be described later, a power switch 109 to be described later, and an alarm lamp 119 to be described later, and outputs sound from a built-in speaker 115 to be described later. A sound output surface 1151 formed by a plurality of sound output holes for passing through 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 wall surface 1130 of the housing 1100 is provided with a plurality of connection ports (1132a to 1132c) for electrically connecting a cable to a display I / F 117 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. 6 shows a state where the tilt angle θ1 is 90 degrees. The camera housing 1300 is provided with a built-in camera 112 described later, and 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. Then, with respect to the arm 1200, the camera housing 1300 is vertically, horizontally and horizontally within a range of a pan angle θ2 of ± 180 degrees and a tilt angle θ3 of ± 45 degrees with the state shown in FIG. It is configured to be rotatable in the direction.

  Note that the relay device 30, the management system 50, the conversion system 80, 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.

  FIG. 7 is a hardware configuration diagram of the terminal according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, 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) that control the operation of the entire terminal 10. ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, RAM (Random Access Memory) 103 used as a work area of the CPU 101, flash memory 104 for storing various data such as programs for the terminal 10, image data, and sound data, the CPU 101 The SSD (Solid State Drive) 105 that controls the reading or writing of various data with respect to the flash memory 104 according to the above control, the media drive 107 that controls the reading or writing (storage) of data with respect to the recording medium 106 such as the flash memory, the terminal 10 It is operated when selecting a destination. Operation button 108, a power switch 109 for switching on / off the power of the terminal 10, and a network I / F (Interface) 111 for data transmission using the communication network 2.

  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, a sound The built-in speaker 115 that outputs the sound, the sound input / output I / F 116 that processes 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 FIG. 5 shows a display I / F 117 for transmission, an external device connection I / F 118 for connecting various external devices, an alarm lamp 119 for notifying abnormality of various functions of the terminal 10, and the above-described components. Are provided with a bus line 110 such as an address bus or a data bus for electrical connection to

  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, or an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) or DVI (Digital Video Interface) signal. It may be a cable.

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

  The external device connection I / F 118 includes an external camera, an external microphone, an external speaker, and the like by a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or the like inserted into the connection port 1132 of the housing 1100 shown in FIG. Can be electrically connected to each other. When an external camera is connected, the external camera is driven in preference to the built-in camera 112 under 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, as long as it is a non-volatile memory that reads or writes data according to the control of the CPU 101, not only the flash memory 104 but also an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM) or the like may be used.

  FIG. 8 is a hardware configuration diagram of the management system according to this embodiment of the present invention. The management system 50 includes a CPU 201 that controls the overall operation of the 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 various programs such as programs for the management system 50. HD 204 for storing data, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 205 for controlling reading or writing of various data to the HD 204 according to control of the CPU 201, media for controlling reading or writing (storage) of data to a recording medium 206 such as a flash memory Drive 207, display 208 for displaying various information such as cursor, menu, window, character, or image, network I / F 209 for data communication using communication network 2, character A keyboard 211 having a plurality of keys for inputting numerical values and various instructions, a mouse 212 for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, etc., and a CD as an example of a removable recording medium A CD-ROM drive 214 for controlling reading or writing of various data to / from a ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) 213, and an address for electrically connecting the above components as shown in FIG. A bus line 210 such as a bus or a data bus is provided.

  On the other hand, the relay device 30, the conversion system 80, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 have the same hardware configuration as that of the management system 50, and thus the description thereof is omitted. However, each HD 204 stores various data such as a program for controlling the relay device 30, the conversion system 80, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100.

  Note that each program for the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the conversion system 80, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 is a computer-readable recording medium (recording) in a file that can be installed or executed. It may be recorded and distributed on the media 106 or the like. Other examples of the recording medium include CD-R (Compact Disc Recordable), DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), and Blu-ray Disc.

<< Functional Configuration of Embodiment >>
Next, the functional configuration of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the management system 50, and the conversion system 80 that constitute a part of the call system 1 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 9, the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the management system 50, and the conversion system 80 are connected so that data communication can be performed via the communication network 2.

<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, a sound input unit 15a, a sound output unit 15b, a display control unit 16, a delay detection unit 17, and a storage / read processing unit 19. have. Each of these units is a function realized by any one of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 7 being operated by a command from the CPU 101 according to the program for the terminal 10 expanded from the flash memory 104 onto the RAM 103. Or means. Further, the terminal 10 has a storage unit 1000 constructed by the RAM 103 shown in FIG. 7 and the flash memory 104 shown in FIG.

(Functional configuration of terminal)
Next, each functional configuration of the terminal 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 9. In the following, in describing each functional configuration of the terminal 10, a relationship with main components for realizing each functional configuration of the terminal 10 among the respective components illustrated in FIG. 7 will also be described. .

  The transmission / reception unit 11 of the terminal 10 shown in FIG. 9 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the network I / F 111 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 includes not only the operating status of each terminal 10 (online or offline status) but also whether it is possible to make a call even when online, whether it is in a call, whether it is away from the office, etc. Shows detailed status. The status information is not only for the operating status of each terminal 10 but also for the terminal 10 to have the cable 120c disconnected from the terminal 10, to output sound but not to output an image, or to output no sound. 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 accepting unit 12 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the operation buttons 108 and the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 7, and accepts various inputs by the user. For example, when the user turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 7, the operation input accepting unit 12 shown in FIG. 9 accepts power-on and turns on the power.

  The login request unit 13 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7, and requests login 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. Thereby, 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 the instruction from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the camera 112 and the imaging device I / F 113 shown in FIG. Output data.

  The sound input unit 15a is realized by the instruction from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the sound input / output I / F 116 shown in FIG. 7, and the user's sound is converted into a sound signal by the microphone 114. Thereafter, sound data related to the sound signal is input. The sound output unit 15b is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the sound input / output I / F 116 shown in FIG. 7, and outputs a sound signal related to the sound data to the speaker 115. The sound is output from 115.

  The display control unit 16 is realized by the instruction from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the display I / F 117 shown in FIG. 7, and combines received image data with different resolutions as described later. Control for transmitting the combined image data to the display 120 is performed. In addition, the display control unit 16 can transmit information on the destination list received from the management system 50 to the display 120 and cause the display 120 to display the destination list.

  The delay detection unit 17 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and detects a delay time (ms) of image data or sound data sent from another terminal 10 via the relay device 30. .

  The storage / reading processing unit 19 is executed by the instruction from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the instruction from the SSD 105 shown in FIG. 7 or realized by the instruction from the CPU 101, and stores various data in the storage unit 1000. Processing for reading various data stored in the unit 1000 is performed. The storage unit 1000 stores a terminal ID (Identification) for identifying the terminal 10, a password, and the like. Further, the storage unit 1000 overwrites and stores image data and sound data received when a call with the destination terminal is made. Among these, an image is displayed on the display 120 by the image data before being overwritten, and a sound is output from the speaker 115 by the sound 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.

<Functional configuration of relay device>
The relay device 30 includes a transmission / reception unit 31, a state detection unit 32, a data quality confirmation unit 33, a change quality management unit 34, a data quality change unit 35, and a storage / read processing unit 39. Each of these units is a function realized by any of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 8 being operated by a command from the CPU 201 according to the program for the relay device 30 expanded from the HD 204 onto the RAM 203, or Means. The relay device 30 includes a storage unit 3000 configured by the RAM 203 illustrated in FIG. 8 and / or the HD 204 illustrated in FIG.

(Change quality control table)
FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing the changed quality management table. In the storage unit 3000, a change quality management DB (Data Base) 3001 configured by a change quality management table as shown in FIG. In the change quality management table, the IP address of the terminal 10 as the relay destination (destination) of the image data and the image quality of the image data relayed by the relay device 30 are associated with the relay destination and managed.

(Each functional configuration of the relay device)
Next, each functional configuration of the relay device 30 will be described in detail. In the following description, in describing each functional configuration of the relay device 30, among the components illustrated in FIG. 8, the relationship with the main components for realizing each functional configuration of the relay device 30 is also described. explain.

  The transmission / reception unit 31 of the relay device 30 shown in FIG. 9 is realized by the command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 and the network I / F 209 shown in FIG. Various data (or information) is transmitted / received to / from other terminals, devices or systems. In addition, the transmission / reception unit 31 initializes a communication session in the own device.

  Further, the transmission / reception unit 31 instructs the destination indicated by the IP address of the requesting terminal among the IP addresses received by the transmission / reception unit 31 to start a communication session (first communication session). Session start instruction information is transmitted. Also, the transmission / reception unit 31 instructs the destination indicated by the IP address of the conversion system 80 among the IP addresses received by the transmission / reception unit 31 to start a communication session (second communication session). Session start instruction information and the IP address of the destination terminal are transmitted.

  The state detection unit 32 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 illustrated in FIG. 8, and detects the operating state of the relay device 30 having the state detection unit 32. The operating state includes “online”, “offline”, “busy”, or “temporarily interrupted”.

  The data quality confirmation unit 33 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8, searches the change quality management table (see FIG. 10) using the IP address of the destination terminal as a search key, and relays correspondingly. The image quality of the relayed image data is confirmed by extracting the image quality of the image data.

  The change quality management unit 34 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 and is based on quality information to be described later and sent from the management system 50. The content of the change quality management table (see FIG. 10). To change. For example, a video conference is performed by transmitting and receiving high-quality image data between a request source terminal (terminal 10aa) whose terminal ID is “01aa” and a destination terminal (terminal 10ba) whose terminal ID is “01ba”. While the request is being made, the request source terminal (terminal 10bb) and the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) that conduct another video conference start the video conference via the communication network 2, etc., and the destination terminal (terminal 10ba). When a delay in receiving the image data occurs, the relay device 30 reduces the image quality of the image data that has been relayed from the high image quality to the medium image quality. In such a case, the content of the change quality management table (see FIG. 10) is changed so as to lower the image quality of the image data relayed by the relay device 30 from the high image quality to the medium image quality based on the quality information indicating the medium image quality. Is done.

  The data quality changing unit 35 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8, and changes the image quality of the image data sent from the transmission source terminal to the changed quality management table (see FIG. 10). Change based on the contents of

  The storage / reading processing unit 39 is realized by an instruction from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 and the HDD 205 shown in FIG. 8, and stores various data in the storage unit 3000 or stored in the storage unit 3000. To read various 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, an extraction unit 54, a determination unit 55, a session management unit 56, a quality determination unit 57, a delay time management unit 58, and a storage / read processing unit 59. have. Each of these units is a function realized by any one of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 8 being operated by an instruction from the CPU 201 according to the program for the management system 50 expanded from the HD 204 onto the RAM 203, or Means. Further, the management system 50 includes a storage unit 5000 constructed by the HD 204 shown in FIG.

(Relay device management table)
FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing a relay device management table. In the storage unit 5000, a relay device management DB 5001 configured by a relay device management table as shown in FIG. 11 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 call speed (Mbps) in the relay device 30 is managed in association with each other. For example, in the relay device management table shown in FIG. 11, the relay device 30a with the relay device ID “111a” is “online” in the operating state, and the date and time when the status information is received by the management system 50 is “2011”. "November 10, 13:00" indicates that the IP address of the relay device 30a is "1.2.1.2" and the maximum data call speed in the relay device 30a is 100 Mbps. Yes.

(Terminal information management table)
FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing a terminal information management table. In the storage unit 5000, a terminal information management DB 5002 configured by a terminal information management table as shown in FIG. 12 is constructed. In this terminal information management table, the authentication password, the model number of the terminal 10, the serial number of the terminal 10, and the communication method of the terminal 10 are associated with each terminal ID of all the terminals 10 managed by the management system 50. Managed. For example, in the terminal information management table shown in FIG. 12, the terminal ID of the terminal 10aa is “01aa”, the password is “aaaa”, the model number is “9001”, the serial number is “2001”, and the communication method is It is shown to be “dedicated”.

  The communication method “dedicated” indicates a communication method used by the dedicated terminal A shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The communication method “non-dedicated 1” indicates a communication method used by the non-dedicated terminal D shown in FIG. Further, the communication method “non-dedicated 2” indicates a communication method other than the communication method used by the dedicated terminal A and the non-dedicated terminal D, respectively.

(Terminal status management table)
FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing a terminal state management table. In the storage unit 5000, a terminal state management DB 5003 configured by a terminal state management table as shown in FIG. 13 is constructed. In this terminal status management table, for each terminal ID of each terminal 10, the terminal name when each terminal 10 is the destination, the operating status of each terminal 10, and the reception date and time when the log-in request information described below was received by the management system 50 , And the IP address of the terminal 10 are managed in association with each other. For example, in the terminal status management table shown in FIG. 13, the terminal 10aa with the terminal ID “01aa” has the terminal name “Japan Tokyo Office AA terminal” and the operating status “online (call possible)”. The date and time when the login request information is received by the management system 50 is “11:40 on November 10, 2011”, and the IP address of this terminal 10aa is “1.2.1.3”. Has been.

  However, in the terminal state management table, the IP addresses of the terminals 10 other than the dedicated terminal A, that is, the non-dedicated terminals D are not managed because they are not managed.

(Destination list management table)
FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing a destination list management table. In the storage unit 5000, a destination list management DB 5004 configured by a destination list management table as shown in FIG. 14 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. For example, in the destination list management table illustrated in FIG. 14, a destination terminal candidate that can request the start of a call from a request source terminal (terminal 10aa) whose terminal ID is “01aa” is a terminal ID “ The terminal 10ab is “01ab”, the terminal 10ba is “01ba” as the terminal ID, the terminal 10bb is “01bb” as the terminal ID, 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. In the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13), the IP addresses of the terminals 10 other than the dedicated terminal A are not managed, but in the destination list management table (see FIG. 14), the terminals 10 other than the dedicated terminal A are used. Is the management target.

(Session management table)
FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing a session management table. In the storage unit 5000, a session management DB 5005 configured by a session management table as shown in FIG. 15 is constructed. In this session management table, the relay device ID of the relay device 30 used for relaying image data and sound data, the terminal ID of the request source terminal, the terminal ID of the destination terminal, and reception when image data is received at the destination terminal The delay time (ms) and delay time information indicating this delay time are sent from the destination terminal and received by the management system 50 in association with each other. For example, in the session management table shown in FIG. 15, the relay device 30a (relay device ID “111a”) has a request source terminal (terminal 10aa) with a terminal ID “01aa” and a terminal ID “01ca”. Image data and sound data are relayed to and from the destination terminal (terminal 10ca), and the delay time of the image data at “14:00 on November 10, 2011” at the destination terminal (terminal 10ca). It is shown that it is 200 (ms). When a call is made between the two terminals 10, the reception date and time of the delay time information may be managed based on the delay time information transmitted from the request source terminal instead of the destination terminal. However, when a call is made between three or more terminals 10, the reception date and time of delay time information is managed based on the delay time information transmitted from the terminal 10 on the image data and sound data receiving side. .

(Conversion management table)
FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram showing a conversion management table. In the storage unit 5000, a conversion management DB 5006 configured by a conversion management table as shown in FIG. 16 is constructed. In this conversion management table, terminal IDs of non-dedicated terminals (including non-dedicated 1 and non-dedicated 2 terminals), an IP address of the conversion system 80, and an IP address of the non-dedicated terminal are managed in association with each other.

(Quality control table)
FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram showing a quality management table. In the storage unit 5000, a quality management DB 5007 configured by a quality management table as shown in FIG. 17 is constructed. In this quality management table, the delay time information indicating the delay time of the image data so that the image quality of the image data relayed by the relay device 30 is lowered as the delay time (ms) of the image data at the request source terminal or the destination terminal is longer. And image quality information indicating the image quality (image quality) of the image data are managed in association with each other.

(Functional configuration of the management system)
Next, each functional configuration of the management system 50 will be described in detail. In the following, in describing each functional configuration of the management system 50, among the components shown in FIG. 8, the relationship with the main components for realizing each functional configuration of the management system 50 is also described. explain.

  The transmission / reception unit 51 is executed by the instruction from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 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. 8, and manages terminal information using the terminal ID and password included in the login request information received via the transmission / reception unit 51 as search keys. A table (see FIG. 12) is searched, and terminal authentication is performed by determining whether the same terminal ID and password are managed in this terminal information management table.

  The state management unit 53 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 and stores the request source in the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13) in order to manage the operating state of the request source terminal that has requested login. The terminal ID of the terminal, the operation state of the request 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 sets the terminal state based on the state information sent from the terminal 10 to turn off the power when the user turns the power switch 109 of the terminal 10 from ON to OFF. The operating state indicating online in the management table (see FIG. 13) is changed to offline.

  The extraction unit 54 is realized by an instruction from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8, searches each management DB built in the storage unit 5000 by various search keys, and stores data (information) corresponding to the search key. Extract as search results.

  For example, the extraction unit 54 searches the destination list management table (see FIG. 14) using the terminal ID of the request source terminal that requested the login as a key, and sets the terminal IDs of candidate destination terminals that can talk to the request source terminal. Extract. Further, the extraction unit 54 searches the terminal state table (see FIG. 13) using the terminal ID of the destination terminal candidate as a search key, and extracts the operating state for each terminal ID. Thereby, the extraction unit 54 can acquire the operating state of the candidate destination terminal that can talk to the request source terminal that has requested the login.

  Further, the extraction unit 54 searches the destination list management table (see FIG. 14) using the terminal ID of the request source terminal that requested the login as a key, and registers the terminal ID of the request source terminal as a destination terminal candidate. The terminal IDs of other request source terminals are also extracted. Further, the extraction unit 54 searches the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13) using the terminal ID as a search key, and also acquires the operating state of the request source terminal that requested the login.

  Further, the extraction unit 54 extracts the IP address of the corresponding terminal 10 by searching the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13) using the terminal ID of the terminal 10 received by the transmission / reception unit 51 as a search key. Further, the extraction unit 54 extracts corresponding communication method information by searching the terminal information management table (see FIG. 12) using the terminal ID of the terminal 10 received by the transmission / reception unit 51 as a search key. Further, the extraction unit 54 searches the conversion management table (see FIG. 16) using the terminal ID of the terminal 10 received by the transmission / reception unit 51 as a search key, so that the IP address of the corresponding conversion system 80 and the above-described reception are received. The IP address of the terminal 10 related to the terminal ID is extracted.

  Further, the extraction unit 54 extracts the image quality information of the corresponding image data by searching the quality management table (see FIG. 17) using the delay time information received by the transmission / reception unit 51 as a search key.

  Further, the extraction unit 54 searches the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13) using the IP address of the destination terminal as a search key, thereby extracting the corresponding terminal ID.

  Subsequently, the determination unit 55 determines whether or not the communication method used in the terminal 10 is a communication method used in the dedicated terminal A, which is realized by a command from the CPU 201 illustrated in FIG. .

  The session management unit 56 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 and is stored in the session management table (see FIG. 15) of the storage unit 5000 in the relay device ID of the relay device 30 used for relaying call data. The terminal ID of the request source terminal, the terminal ID of the destination terminal, the reception delay time (ms) when the image data is received at the destination terminal, and the delay time information indicating this delay time are sent from the destination terminal. The received date and time received by the management system 50 is stored and managed in association with each other. The session management unit 56 creates a session ID used for establishing a communication session.

  The quality determination unit 57 determines the image quality of the image data to be relayed by the relay device 30 based on the image quality information of the image data extracted by the extraction unit 54.

  The delay time management unit 58 is realized by an instruction from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8, and in the session management table of the session management DB 5005 (see FIG. 15), a record including the terminal ID extracted by the extraction unit 54 The delay time indicated by the delay time information is stored and managed in the delay time field portion of.

  The storage / read processing unit 59 is executed by the instruction from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 and the HDD 205 shown in FIG. 8, and stores various data in the storage unit 5000 or stored in the storage unit 5000. To read various data.

<Functional configuration of conversion system>
The conversion system 80 includes a transmission / reception unit 81, a communication method conversion unit 82, and a storage / reading processing unit 89. Each of these units is a function realized by any one of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 8 being operated by a command from the CPU 201 according to the program for the conversion system 80 expanded from the HD 204 onto the RAM 203, or Means. Further, the conversion system 80 has a storage unit 8000 constructed by the RAM 203 shown in FIG. 8 and / or the HD 204 shown in FIG. The storage unit 8000 stores conversion rule data used for converting communication data.

(Each functional configuration of the conversion system)
Next, each functional configuration of the conversion system 80 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. In the following, in describing each functional configuration of the conversion system 80, among the components illustrated in FIG. 8, the relationship with the main components for realizing each functional configuration of the conversion system 80 is also described. explain.

  The transmission / reception unit 81 of the conversion system 80 shown in FIG. 9 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 and the network I / F 209 shown in FIG. Various data (or information) is transmitted / received to / from other terminals, devices or systems. Further, the transmission / reception unit 81 transmits session start instruction information for instructing the start of the communication session (third communication session) to the destination indicated by the destination information transmitted by the relay device 30. The destination information is an IP address, a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier), or the like.

  The communication method conversion unit 82 converts the communication method of the call data transmitted from the request source terminal and the communication method of the call data transmitted from the destination terminal according to the communication method conversion rule data stored in the storage unit 8000. Convert.

  The storage / read processing unit 89 is executed by the instruction from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 and the HDD 205 shown in FIG. 8, and stores various data in the storage unit 8000 or stored in the storage unit 8000. To read various data.

<< Processing or Operation of Embodiment >>
Next, a first communication pattern in which a call is made between two dedicated terminals A will be described with reference to FIGS. Specifically, a case where a call is made between the terminal 10aa as the dedicated terminal A and the terminal 10ca as the dedicated terminal A will be described. FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram showing processing in a preparation stage for starting a call between terminals. Also, in FIG. 18, various types of management information are transmitted and received through the management communication session sei shown in FIG.

  First, when the user turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the operation input receiving unit 12 shown in FIG. 9 receives the power-on, and is shown in FIG. 18. Thus, the power is turned on (step S21). 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 when the power-on is received (step S22). This login request information includes a terminal ID and a password for identifying the own terminal as the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). These terminal ID and password are data read from the storage unit 1000 via the storage / read processing unit 19 and sent to the transmission / reception unit 11. When the login request information is transmitted from the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) to the management system 50, the management system 50 that is the reception side grasps the IP address of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that is the transmission side. be able to.

  Next, the terminal authentication unit 52 of the management system 50 searches the terminal information management table (see FIG. 12) 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 information management DB 5002 (step S23). Since the same terminal ID and password are managed by the terminal authentication unit 52, when it is determined that the login request is from the terminal 10 having a valid use authority, the state management unit 53 In the management table (see FIG. 13), the terminal ID of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), the operating state, the reception date and time when the login request information is received, and the IP address of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) are stored in association with each other. (Step S24). As a result, the terminal status management table (see FIG. 13) includes the terminal ID “01aa”, the operation status “online”, the reception date and time “2011.11.10.13:40”, and the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). The IP address “1.2.1.3” is associated and managed.

  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 S25). In the present embodiment, the case where the terminal authentication unit 52 determines that the terminal 10 has a valid usage right will be described below.

  The extraction unit 54 of the management system 50 searches the destination list management table (see FIG. 14) using the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login as a search key, and requests the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). The terminal IDs of candidate destination terminals that can communicate with the terminal are extracted (step S26). Here, the terminal IDs (“01ab”, “01ba”,...) Of the destination terminals (terminals 10ab, 10ba,...) Corresponding to the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) are set. Will be extracted.

  Next, the extraction unit 54 searches the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13) using the terminal IDs (“01ab”, “01ba”,...) Of the destination terminal candidates extracted in step S26 as search keys. Then, by reading out the operating state (“offline”, “online”,...) For each terminal ID, each operating state of the terminal (10ab, 10ba,...) Is acquired (step S27).

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 51 uses the terminal IDs (“01ab”, “01ba”,...) As search keys used in step S27 and the corresponding destination terminals (terminals 10ab, 10ba,...). .) Is sent to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) via the communication network 2 (step S28). . As a result, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) has the current operating state of terminals (10ab, 10ba,...) That are candidates for destination terminals that can communicate with the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) ( "Offline", "Online", etc.) can be grasped.

  Further, the extraction unit 54 searches the destination list management table (see FIG. 14) using the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login as a search key, and the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). The terminal IDs of the other request source terminals that have registered the terminal ID “01aa” as the destination terminal candidate are extracted (step S29). In the destination list management table shown in FIG. 14, the terminal IDs of the other request source terminals to be extracted are “01ba”, “01ca”, “01da”, and the like. In the following description, in order to simplify the description, it is assumed that the terminal IDs of the other request source terminals to be extracted are “01ba”, “01ca”, and “01da”.

  Next, the extraction unit 54 searches the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13) using the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login, as a search key, and has made a login request. The operating state of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) is acquired (step S30). Then, the transmission / reception unit 51 includes the terminal state management table (10ba, 10ca, 10da) among the terminals (10ba, 10ca, 10da) associated with the terminal IDs (“01ba”, “01ca”, and “01da”) extracted in step S29. The terminal ID “01aa” and the operation state “online” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) acquired in step S30 are added to the terminals (10ba, 10ca) whose operation state is “online” in FIG. The destination state information included is transmitted (steps S31-1, 2). When the transmission / reception unit 51 transmits the destination state information to the terminals (10ba, 10ca), it is managed in the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13) based on each terminal ID (“01ba”, “01ca”). Refers to the IP address of the current terminal. Thus, the terminal ID “of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login is sent to each of the other destination terminals (terminals 10ba and 10ca) that can communicate with the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login. 01aa "and the operation state" online "can be transmitted.

  Since the terminal 10da as the non-dedicated terminal D is not managed in the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13), the terminal ID of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login is sent to the terminal 10da. “01aa” and the operation status “online” cannot be transmitted. That is, the non-dedicated terminal D cannot receive a service for obtaining the operating state of the dedicated terminal A.

  On the other hand, in the other terminals 10 as well, when the user turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the operation input reception unit 12 shown in FIG. Since ON is accepted and processing similar to the processing in steps S22 to S31-1, 2 is performed, the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, a case where a call is made between two dedicated terminals A will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 9, and 19 to 22. FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram showing a call start request.

  As shown in FIG. 19, first, the user of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) as the dedicated terminal A presses the operation button 108 shown in FIG. When the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) as A is selected, the operation input receiving unit 12 shown in FIG. 9 receives a request to start a call with the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) (step S41). Then, the transmission / reception unit 11 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) transmits start request information indicating that it is desired to start a call to the management system 50 (step S42). The start request information includes the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the terminal ID “01ca” of the destination terminal (terminal 10ca).

  Then, the state management unit 53 of the management system 50 illustrated in FIG. 9 includes the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the terminal ID “01ca” of the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) included in the start request information. ”In the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13), the field portions of the operation state of the records each including the terminal ID“ 01aa ”and the terminal ID“ 01ca ”are both changed to“ online (during a call) ”. (Step S43). In this state, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) have not started a call, but are in a call state and the other terminal 10 is a request source terminal (terminal 10aa) or a destination terminal. When a call is made to (terminal 10ca), a notification sound or display indicating a so-called call state is output.

  Next, the session management unit 56 of the management system 50 creates a session ID used to establish a communication session (step S44). Then, the management system 50 determines what communication method is used by the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) (step S45).

  Here, step S45 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing determination of the communication method.

  As illustrated in FIG. 20, the extraction unit 54 searches the terminal information management table (see FIG. 12) based on the terminal ID “01ca” of the destination terminal (terminal 10 ca) received by the transmission / reception unit 51. Thus, the corresponding communication method information is extracted (step S45-1).

  Next, the determination unit 55 determines whether or not the communication method indicated by the extracted communication method information is a communication method used in the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) as the dedicated terminal A (Step S55). S45-2). Specifically, the determination unit 55 determines whether or not the communication method indicated by the communication method information extracted by the extraction unit 54 is the same as the communication method used in the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). . When the communication method is the same, both the call control method and the coding method are the same. When the communication method is not the same (different), at least one of the call control method and the coding method. Is different.

  If the determination unit 55 determines in step S45-2 that the communication method is the same (YES), the process proceeds to step S61 shown in FIG. Here, since the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) is the same dedicated terminal A as the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), the process will be described from step S61. FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram showing processing for establishing a communication session before a call is made between two dedicated terminals A. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the relay device 30a connected to the same LAN 2a as the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) among the plurality of relay devices 30 is used.

  As shown in FIG. 21, the management system 50 transmits session initialization request information indicating that a communication session established by the relay device 30a is to be initialized from the transmission / reception unit 51 to the relay device 30a. (Step S61). The session initialization request information includes the session ID created in step S44, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) managed by the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13). ) Each IP address is included. The management system 50 also transmits the IP address of the management system 50 when transmitting the session initialization request information to the relay device 30a. Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the relay device 30a receives the session initialization request information and the IP address of the management system 50.

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the relay device 30a initializes the communication session (step S62). Then, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits session start instruction information indicating that the start of the communication session is instructed to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) (step S63). This session start instruction information includes the session ID sent from the management system 50. Further, when the relay device 30a transmits the session start instruction information to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), the relay device 30a also transmits the IP address of the relay device 30a. Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 11 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the session start instruction information and the IP address of the relay device 30a.

  Similarly, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits session start instruction information indicating an instruction to start a communication session to the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) (step S64). This session start instruction information includes the session ID sent from the management system 50. Further, when the relay device 30a transmits the session start instruction information to the destination terminal (terminal 10ca), the relay device 30a also transmits the IP address of the relay device 30a. Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 11 of the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) receives the session start instruction information and the IP address of the relay device 30a.

  As described above, a communication session (first communication session sed1 shown in FIG. 2) for transmitting and receiving call data is established between the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the relay device 30a based on step S63. (Step S65-1). Further, based on the above step S64, a communication session (second communication session sed2 shown in FIG. 2) for transmitting and receiving call data is established between the relay device 30a and the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) ( Step S65-2).

  Next, a process for transmitting / receiving call data in order to make a call such as a video conference between the request source terminal and the destination terminal will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram showing processing for transmitting and receiving call data between two dedicated terminals A. In addition, transmission / reception of call data, detection of a delay time described later, and the like are performed by one-way processing for transmitting call data from the terminal 10aa to the terminal 10ca and reverse processing for transmitting call data from the terminal 10ca to the terminal 10aa. Since the processing is the same, the one-way communication will be described, and the reverse communication will be omitted.

  First, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the image data of the subject imaged by the imaging unit 14 and the sound data of the sound input by the sound input unit 15a from the transmission / reception unit 11 using the communication session sed1. The data is transmitted to the relay device 30a via the communication network 2 (step S81). In the present embodiment, the high-quality image data including the low resolution, the medium resolution, and the high resolution shown in FIG. 3 and the sound data are transmitted. Thereby, in the relay device 30a, the transmission / reception unit 31 receives the image data and the sound data of the three resolutions. Then, the data quality confirmation unit 33 searches the change quality management table (see FIG. 10) using the IP address “1.3.1.3” of the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) as a search key, and the corresponding relay image By extracting the image quality of the data, the image quality of the image data to be relayed is confirmed (step S82). In the present embodiment, since the image quality of the confirmed image data is “high image quality” and is the same as the image quality of the image data received by the transmission / reception unit 31, the relay device 30a uses the communication session sed2 as it is. Are transferred to the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) with the image data of the image quality and the sound data of the sound quality as it is (step S83). As a result, the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) receives the high-quality image data and the sound data including the low resolution, the medium resolution, and the high resolution at the transmission / reception unit 11. Then, the display control unit 16 can combine the three image quality image data to display an image on the display 120, and the sound output unit 15b can output a sound based on the sound data.

  Next, the delay detection unit 17 of the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) detects the delay time of reception of the image data received by the transmission / reception unit 11 at regular time intervals (for example, every second) (step S84). In the present embodiment, the following description is continued for a case where the delay time is 200 (ms).

  The transmission / reception unit 11 of the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) transmits a delay time “200 (ms)” to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 by the management communication session sei shown in FIG. Information is transmitted (step S85). As a result, the management system 50 can grasp the delay time and the IP address “1.3.1.3” of the terminal 10ca that is the transmission source of the delay time information.

  Next, the delay time management unit 58 of the management system 50 searches the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13) using the IP address “1.3.1.3” of the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) as a search key. Then, the corresponding terminal ID “01ca” is extracted, and in the session management table (see FIG. 15), the delay time field in the record of the terminal ID “01ca” is indicated by the delay time information. The delay time “200 (ms)” is stored and managed (step S86).

  Next, the quality determination unit 57 searches the quality management table (see FIG. 17) using the delay time “200 (ms)” as a search key, and extracts the image quality “medium image quality” of the corresponding image data. The image quality is determined as “medium image quality” (step S87).

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 51 searches the relay device management table (see FIG. 11) using the relay device ID “111a” associated with the terminal ID “01ca” in the session management table (see FIG. 15) as a search key. Then, the IP address “1.2.1.2” of the corresponding relay device 30a is extracted (step S88). Then, the transmission / reception unit 51 transmits the quality information indicating the image quality “medium image quality” of the image data determined in step 87 to the relay apparatus 30a via the communication network 2 through the management communication session sei (step S89). This quality information includes the IP address “1.3.1.3” of the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) used as the search key in step S86. As a result, in the relay device 30a, the change quality management unit 34 adds the IP address “1.3.1.3” of the destination terminal 10 (here, the terminal 10ca) to the change quality management table (see FIG. 10). , And the image quality “medium image quality” of the relayed image data is stored and managed in association with each other (step S90).

  Next, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) continues to the relay device 30a through the first communication session sed1 in the same manner as in the above step S81, and the high-quality image composed of three of low resolution, medium resolution, and high resolution. Data and sound data are transmitted (step S91). Thereby, in the relay device 30a, as in step S82, the data quality confirmation unit 33 uses the IP address “1.3.1.3” of the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) as a search key to change the quality management table ( 10) and the image quality “medium image quality” of the corresponding image data to be relayed is extracted to check the image quality of the image data to be relayed (step S92). In this embodiment, since the image quality of the confirmed image data is “medium image quality” and lower than the image quality “high image quality” of the image data received by the transmission / reception unit 31, the data quality changing unit 35 The image quality of the image data is changed by suppressing the image quality from “high image quality” to “medium image quality” (step S93).

  The transmission / reception unit 31 transmits the image data in which the image quality of the image data is changed to “medium image quality” and the sound quality of the sound to the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) via the communication network 2 by the second communication session sed2. The sound data that has not been changed is transmitted (step S94). As a result, the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) receives the image data and the sound data of medium quality composed of the low resolution and the medium resolution at the transmission / reception unit 11. Then, the display control unit 16 can combine the two resolution image data to display the image on the display 120ca, and the sound output unit 15b can output the sound based on the sound data.

  As described above, when a reception delay occurs at the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) that receives the image data, the relay device 30a changes the image quality, and the user is participating in a call such as a video conference. It is possible to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable. In other words, between the two dedicated terminals A, it is possible to receive a service for dealing with a delay in receiving image data.

  Next, referring to FIGS. 20, 23 to 25, a second call is made between the dedicated terminal A (an example of the first communication terminal) and the non-dedicated terminal D (an example of the second communication terminal). A communication pattern will be described. Specifically, a call is performed between the terminal 10aa as the dedicated terminal A and the terminal 10da as the non-dedicated terminal D. In this embodiment, the communication method used in the terminal 10aa is that the call control method is an instant messenger protocol (or a protocol obtained by extending the instant messenger protocol), the encoding method is SVC, and the terminal 10da As a communication method to be used, a case where the call control method is SIP and the encoding method is AVC will be described.

  18 and 19, in the first communication pattern and the second communication pattern, the destination selection in step S41 is changed from the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) to the destination terminal (terminal 10da). Since only the terminal ID of the destination terminal used for transmission / reception and search differs according to the description, the description thereof is omitted. Then, description will be made from the case where the determination unit 55 determines that the communication system is not the same (different) (NO) in step S45-2 shown in FIG.

  In the case of this second communication pattern, the extraction unit 54 searches the conversion management table (see FIG. 16) based on the terminal ID “01da” of the destination terminal (terminal 10da) received by the transmission / reception unit 51. Then, the IP address “1.3.2.2” of the corresponding conversion system 80 and the IP address “1.3.2.3” of the destination terminal (terminal 10da) are extracted (step S45-3). Then, the process proceeds to step S101 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing for establishing a communication session before a call is made between the dedicated terminal A and the non-dedicated terminal D. As shown in FIG. 23, the management system 50 transmits session initialization request information indicating that a communication session established by the relay device 30a is to be initialized from the transmission / reception unit 51 to the relay device 30a. (Step S101). The session initialization request information includes the session ID and the IP addresses of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), conversion system 80, and destination terminal (terminal 10da). Among these, the session ID is the ID created in step S44. Further, the IP address of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) is managed in the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13). Furthermore, the IP addresses of the conversion system 80 and the destination terminal (terminal 10da) are the IP addresses extracted in step S45-3.

  The management system 50 also transmits the IP address of the management system 50 when transmitting the session initialization request information to the relay device 30a. Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the relay device 30a receives the session initialization request information and the IP address of the management system 50.

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the relay device 30a initializes the communication session (step S102). Then, the transmitting / receiving unit 31 transmits session start instruction information indicating that the start of the communication session is instructed to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) (step S103). This session start instruction information includes the session ID sent from the management system 50. Further, when the relay device 30a transmits the session start instruction information to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), the relay device 30a also transmits the IP address of the relay device 30a. Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 11 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the session start instruction information and the IP address of the relay device 30a.

  Similarly, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits session start instruction information indicating that a start of a communication session is instructed to the conversion system 80 (step S104). The session start instruction information includes the session ID sent from the management system 50 and the destination terminal (terminal 10da) IP address. That is, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits the session start instruction information and the destination terminal (terminal 10da) IP address. Further, when the relay device 30a transmits the session start instruction information to the conversion system 80, the relay device 30a also transmits the IP address of the relay device 30a. As a result, the transmission / reception unit 81 of the conversion system 80 receives the session start instruction information and the IP address of the relay device 30a.

  Further, in the second communication pattern, the transmission / reception unit 81 of the conversion system 80 transmits session start instruction information indicating that the start of the communication session is instructed to the destination terminal (terminal 10da) (step S105). This session start instruction information includes the session ID sent from the management system 50. Further, when the conversion system 80 transmits the session start instruction information to the destination terminal (terminal 10da), the conversion system 80 also transmits the IP address of the conversion system 80. Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 11 of the destination terminal (terminal 10da) receives the session start instruction information and the IP address of the conversion system 80.

  As described above, a communication session (the first communication session sed11 shown in FIG. 4) for transmitting and receiving call data is established between the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the relay device 30a based on step S103. (Step S106-1). Further, based on step S104, a communication session (second communication session sed12 shown in FIG. 4) for transmitting and receiving call data is established between the relay device 30a and the conversion system 80 (step S106-). 2). Furthermore, a communication session (third communication session sed13 shown in FIG. 4) for transmitting and receiving call data is established between the conversion system 80 and the destination terminal (terminal 10da) based on the above step S105. (Step S106-3).

  Next, a process for transmitting / receiving call data in order to make a call such as a video conference between the request source terminal and the destination terminal will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 24 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing for transmitting and receiving call data between the dedicated terminal A and the non-dedicated terminal D.

  First, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the image data of the subject imaged by the imaging unit 14 and the sound data of the sound input by the sound input unit 15a from the transmission / reception unit 11 using the communication session sed11. The data is transmitted to the relay device 30a via the communication network 2 (step S121). Note that, in the second communication pattern, as in the first communication pattern, the high-quality image data including the low resolution, medium resolution, and high resolution shown in FIG. Sending. Thereby, in the relay device 30a, the transmission / reception unit 31 receives the image data and the sound data of the three resolutions.

  Next, using the communication session sed12, the relay device 30a transmits the three high-quality image data and sound data from the transmission / reception unit 31 to the conversion system 80 via the communication network 2 (step S122). ). Thereby, in the conversion system 80, the transmission / reception unit 81 receives the image data and the sound data of the three resolutions.

  Next, the communication method conversion unit 82 of the conversion system 80 uses the image data of the three resolutions at the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) based on the conversion rule data stored in the storage unit 8000 in advance. The communication method used is converted to the communication method used by the destination terminal (terminal 10da) (step S123). Here, the image data of the three resolutions (high resolution, medium resolution, and low resolution) shown in FIG. 3 is converted into one resolution (medium resolution) shown in FIG. Converted to image data.

  Next, the conversion system 80 uses the communication session sed13 to transmit sound data and medium resolution image data from the transmission / reception unit 81 to the terminal 10da via the communication network 2 (step S124). Thereby, in the destination terminal (terminal 10da), the transmission / reception unit 11 receives the sound data and the medium resolution image data.

  On the other hand, when transmitting image data and sound data from the destination terminal (terminal 10da) to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), the destination terminal (terminal 10da), as shown in FIG. Is used to transmit sound data and medium resolution image data from the transceiver 11 to the conversion system 80 via the communication network 2 (step S125). Thereby, in the conversion system 80, the transmission / reception unit 81 receives the sound data and the medium resolution image data.

  Next, the communication system conversion unit 82 of the conversion system 80 uses the sound data and the medium resolution image data at the destination terminal (terminal 10da) based on the conversion rule data stored in the storage unit 8000 in advance. The communication method used is converted to the communication method used by the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) (step S126).

  FIG. 25 is a conceptual diagram showing the image quality of the image data after being converted by the conversion system. In step S126, the image data of one resolution (medium resolution) shown in FIG. 5 is converted into the image data of medium resolution shown in FIG. The image data is converted into the low resolution image data shown in c) and the low intermediate resolution image data, which is an intermediate resolution between the medium resolution and the low resolution, as shown in FIG. That is, even if medium-resolution image data is sent from the destination terminal (terminal 10da) which is the non-dedicated terminal D, the conversion system 80 converts it to high-resolution image data as sent in step S122. The medium resolution image data sent from the destination terminal (terminal 10da) becomes the maximum resolution, and the medium resolution, the intermediate resolution between the medium resolution and the low resolution, and the three images of the low resolution Converted to data.

  Next, the conversion system 80 uses the communication session sed12 to transmit sound data and image data of three resolutions from the transmission / reception unit 81 to the relay device 30a via the communication network 2 (step S127). Thus, in the relay device 30a, the transmission / reception unit 31 receives the sound data and the image data of the three resolutions. Then, using the communication session sed11, the relay device 30a transmits sound data and image data of three resolutions from the transmission / reception unit 31 to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) via the communication network 2 (step S128). Thereby, in the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), the transmission / reception unit 11 receives the sound data and the image data of the three resolutions.

<< Main effects of this embodiment >>
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the session initialization request information transmitted from the management system 50 to the relay device 30a includes the IP addresses of the request source terminal, the conversion system 80, and the destination terminal. . Thereby, the relay device 30a transmits the session start instruction information to the IP address of the request source terminal, and transmits the session start instruction information including the IP address of the destination terminal to the IP address of the conversion system 80. be able to. Thereby, the conversion system 80 can further transmit session start instruction information to the IP address of the destination terminal.

  By transmitting the session initialization request information by the management system 50 as described above, the first communication session sed11 is established between the relay device 30 and the request source terminal, and between the relay device 30 and the conversion system 80. A second communication session sed12 can be established, and a third communication session sed13 can be established between the conversion system 80 and the destination terminal. Therefore, even when the request source terminal and the destination terminal use different call systems, the communication system of the call data is mutually converted by the conversion system 80, so that the call can be realized.

<< Supplement of Embodiment >>
In the above, the request source terminal or the dedicated terminal A is described as an example of the first communication terminal, and the destination terminal or the non-dedicated terminal D is described as an example of the second communication terminal. However, the present invention is not limited to this. An example of one communication terminal may be a destination terminal or a non-dedicated terminal D, and an example of a second communication terminal may be a request source terminal or a dedicated terminal A.

  The call data is an example of communication data. This communication data includes text and image file data. The call terminal 10 is an example of a communication terminal. The communication terminal includes, for example, an information processing terminal that transmits and receives the file data, in addition to a terminal that performs a call. Furthermore, the call management system 50 is an example of a communication management system. This communication management system includes, for example, a file management system that manages the processing of the file data, in addition to a system that manages calls. Furthermore, the call system 1 is an example of a communication system. This communication system is constructed by the communication terminal and the communication management system.

  In the above embodiment, the management system 50 manages the communication method information using the terminal information management table (see FIG. 12). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the request source terminal manages the communication method information of the destination terminal. May be.

  Thereby, in step S42 shown in FIG. 19, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) includes the communication method information together with the terminal ID of the request source terminal and the terminal ID of the destination terminal in the start request information, and the management system 50 Can be sent to. In this case, in step S41 of FIG. 19, the display control unit 16 displays a selection screen for selecting a non-dedicated terminal that is the destination of the call on the display 120 to prompt the user to select. May be.

  When a destination is selected from this selection screen, in S42 of FIG. 19, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) includes information indicating that the destination terminal ID is a non-dedicated terminal (communication method information) in the start request information. ) Are sent to the management system. In this case, the management system 50 does not need to execute step S45-1 of FIG. 20, and determines that the communication method of the destination terminal is not dedicated based on the communication method information included in the start request information ( The process proceeds to step S45-3 in FIG. 20 and NO in step S45-2 in FIG.

  Further, the user does not necessarily have to select a destination from the selection screen. For example, when the user knows the destination information of the destination terminal in advance, the operation input receiving unit 12 may receive an input of destination information (IP address or the like) of the destination terminal from the user. In this case, in step S42, the request source terminal does not include the terminal ID of the destination terminal, but includes the destination terminal destination information and information indicating that the destination terminal is a non-dedicated terminal (communication method information). Information is transmitted to the management system 50. On the management system 50 side, the determination unit 55 determines in step S45-2 that the destination terminal indicated by the destination information is not a dedicated terminal, and proceeds to the process of step S45-3. Further, in step S45-3, the extraction unit 54 extracts the destination information of the conversion system 80 based on the destination information of the non-dedicated terminal, and proceeds to the process of step S101.

  Further, the terminal ID may be stored in advance in the terminal 10 at the time of factory shipment or may be input by the user.

  Further, the relay device 30, the management system 50, the conversion system 80, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 in the above embodiment may be constructed by a single computer, or each part (function or means) is divided. It may be constructed by a plurality of computers arbitrarily assigned. In addition, when the program providing system 90 is constructed by a single computer, the program transmitted by the program providing system 90 may be transmitted by dividing it into a plurality of modules. It may be transmitted. Further, when the program providing system 90 is constructed by a plurality of computers, a plurality of modules may be divided and transmitted from each computer.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the instant messenger protocol (or a protocol obtained by extending the instant messenger protocol) and SIP have been described as examples in which the call control method differs between terminals, but the call control method differs between terminals. For example, it is not limited to these combinations. For example, a combination of H.323 and an instant messenger protocol (or a protocol obtained by extending the instant messenger protocol) may be used. Also, a combination of an instant messenger protocol and a protocol obtained by extending the instant messenger protocol may be used.

  In addition, a recording medium such as a CD-ROM in which each program of the above embodiment is stored, an HD 204 in which these programs are stored, and a program providing system 90 including the HD 204 are all program products. Can be provided domestically or abroad.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, as an example of the image quality of the image data relayed by the relay device 30 using the change quality management table shown in FIG. 10 and the quality management table shown in FIG. Although the management is performed by paying attention to the resolution of the data image, the present invention is not limited to this. As another example of quality, management may be performed by paying attention to the depth of image quality of image data, the sampling frequency of sound of sound data, the bit length of sound of sound data, and the like. The sound data may be transmitted / received by being divided into three types of resolution data (high resolution, medium resolution, and low resolution).

  11, FIG. 13 and FIG. 15 manage the reception date and time, but the present invention is not limited to this, and at least the reception time of the reception date and time may be managed.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the IP address of the relay device 30 is managed in FIG. 11 and the IP address of the terminal 10 is managed in FIG. 13, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the relay device 30 is specified on the communication network 2. FQDNs (Fully Qualified Domain Names) may be managed as long as the destination information is to identify the terminal 10 on the communication network 2. In this case, an IP address corresponding to the FQDN is acquired by a known DNS (Domain Name System) server.

  In the above embodiment, the case of the video conference system has been described as an example of the call system 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a telephone system such as an IP (Internet Protocol) telephone or an Internet telephone. . Further, the call system 1 may be a car navigation system. In this case, for example, one of the terminals 10 corresponds to a car navigation device mounted on a car, and the other of the terminals 10 is mounted on a management terminal or management server of a management center that manages car navigation, or another car. This corresponds to a car navigation device. The call system 1 may be a mobile phone communication system. In this case, for example, the terminal 10 corresponds to a mobile phone.

  In the above embodiment, image data and sound data have been described as an example of call data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and touch data may be used. In this case, the sense that the user touched on one terminal side is talked to the other terminal side. Furthermore, the call data may be smell data. In this case, the odor (smell) on one terminal side is communicated to the other terminal side. The call data may be at least one of image data, sound data, tactile data, and olfactory data.

  In the above embodiment, the case where a video conference is performed by the call system 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a general conversation such as a meeting, a family or a friend, or information in one direction It may be used for presentation.

1. Call system (an example of a communication system)
10 Call terminal (an example of a communication terminal)
11 Transmission / Reception Unit 30 Relay Device 50 Call Management System (Example of Communication Management System)
51 Transmission / reception unit (an example of transmission means, an example of reception means)
54 Extraction unit (an example of extraction means)
55 Judgment Unit (an example of judging means)
80 Conversion system 81 Transmission / reception unit 82 Communication system conversion unit (an example of conversion means)
90 Program providing system 100 Maintenance system 1000 Storage unit 3000 Storage unit 3001 Change quality management DB
5000 storage unit (an example of storage means)
5001 Relay device management DB
5002 Terminal information management DB (an example of terminal information management means)
5003 Terminal state management DB (an example of terminal state management means)
5004 Destination list management DB
5005 Session management DB
5006 Conversion management DB (an example of conversion management means)
5007 Quality Management DB
8000 storage unit

JP 2008-227577 A

Claims (16)

It is connected via a communication network to a conversion system that enables mutual use between the first communication method and a second communication method different from the first communication method by converting communication data. A relay device that relays communication data using the first communication method; and
A first communication terminal that transmits and receives communication data using the first communication method according to a session established with the relay device;
  A communication system comprising:
The first communication terminal is
A first operation for starting transmission / reception of communication data with another communication terminal that uses the same communication method as the first communication method can be accepted, and is different from the first communication method. Operation accepting means capable of accepting a second operation for starting transmission / reception of communication data with a second communication terminal using the communication method of 2;
Have
The communication system is
When the first operation is received by the operation receiving unit, the first communication terminal establishes a session with the relay device by establishing a session between the relay device and the first communication terminal. When the communication data is transmitted / received to / from the other communication terminal that has established the communication system without passing through the conversion system, and the second operation is received by the operation reception unit, the relay device and the second operation When the first communication terminal establishes a session via the conversion system with the second communication terminal corresponding to the address information input in the first communication terminal when the first communication terminal is received, the first communication terminal A communication system, wherein communication data is transmitted / received via a second communication terminal, the relay device, and the conversion system. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the operation accepting unit accepts selection of a destination corresponding to the other communication terminal when accepting the first operation. The communication system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operation accepting unit accepts an input of address information corresponding to the second communication terminal when accepting the second operation. The first communication terminal has display control means for displaying a selection screen for selecting a destination corresponding to the second communication terminal on a display screen,
The operation accepting unit accepts selection of a destination corresponding to the second communication terminal from the selection screen displayed by the display control unit when accepting the second operation. The communication system as described in any one of thru | or 3. The first communication terminal includes a first transmission unit that transmits communication method information indicating the second communication method when the second operation is received by the operation reception unit.
5. The communication system according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving unit configured to receive the transmitted communication method information. The communication system determines whether or not the communication method used by the second communication terminal is the same as the communication method used by the first communication terminal based on communication method information indicating the second communication method. Having a judgment means to
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein if the determination unit determines that they are not the same, the relay device establishes a session with the second communication terminal via the conversion system. A communication system according to claim 1. The communication system is a video conference system, the communication terminal is a video conference terminal, and the communication data includes data relating to call control or video data. The communication system according to item. When the second operation is accepted by the operation accepting unit, a request for the relay device to establish a session with the second communication terminal via the conversion system is sent to the relay device. The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising second transmission means for transmitting. The second communication method is SIP or H.264. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication system is any one of H.323. Each of the first and second communication methods includes a call control method for connecting to or disconnecting from the communication destination, and an encoding method for encoding the communication data,
  The communication system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the call control method and the encoding method is different. The encoding method included in the first communication method is compliant with the H.264 / SVC video encoding standard, and the encoding method included in the second communication method is an H.264 / AVC video. The communication system according to claim 10, wherein the communication system conforms to an encoding standard. The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the conversion system is constructed by one or more computers. It is connected via a communication network to a conversion system that enables mutual use between the first communication method and a second communication method different from the first communication method by converting communication data. A relay device that relays communication data using the first communication method; and
A first communication terminal that transmits and receives communication data using the first communication method according to a session established with the relay device;
A communication method performed by a communication system having:
The first communication terminal is
A first operation for starting transmission / reception of communication data with another communication terminal using the same communication method as the first communication method, or a second communication different from the first communication method An operation accepting step for accepting a second operation for starting transmission / reception of communication data with a second communication terminal using the method,
The communication system is:
When the first operation is received in the operation receiving step, the first communication terminal establishes a session with the first communication terminal with the relay device, so that the first communication terminal makes the relay When communication data is transmitted / received without passing through the conversion system with the other communication terminal that has established a session with the device, and when the second operation is accepted in the operation accepting step, the relay device , By establishing a session via the conversion system with the second communication terminal corresponding to the address information input in the first communication terminal when accepting the second operation, A transmission / reception step in which one communication terminal transmits and receives communication data via the second communication terminal and the relay device and the conversion system;
  The communication method characterized by performing. A relay device connected via a communication network to a conversion system that enables mutual use between the first communication method and a second communication method different from the first communication method by converting communication data A communication management system capable of communicating with the relay device that relays communication data using the first communication method,
In a first communication terminal that transmits and receives communication data using the first communication method by a session established with the relay device, between other communication terminals that use the same communication method as the first communication method The first start request information transmitted from the first communication terminal can be received in response to accepting a first operation for starting transmission / reception of communication data in the first communication, and the first communication In response to accepting a second operation for starting transmission / reception of communication data with a second communication terminal using a second communication method different from the first communication method in the terminal, Receiving means capable of receiving the second start request information transmitted from the first communication terminal;
When the first start request information is received by the receiving means, a request for establishing a session with the first communication terminal is transmitted to the relay device, whereby the first When communication data is transmitted / received without going through the conversion system with the other communication terminal establishing a session with the relay device to the communication terminal, and when the second start request information is received by the receiving unit, To establish a session via the conversion system with the second communication terminal corresponding to the address information input in the first communication terminal when the relay device accepts the second operation Transmitting means for causing the first communication terminal to transmit and receive communication data via the second communication terminal, the relay device, and the conversion system;
A communication management system comprising: A relay device connected via a communication network to a conversion system that enables mutual use between the first communication method and a second communication method different from the first communication method by converting communication data A communication management method executed by a communication management system capable of communicating with the relay device that relays communication data using the first communication method,
In a first communication terminal that transmits and receives communication data using the first communication method by a session established with the relay device, between other communication terminals that use the same communication method as the first communication method The first start request information transmitted from the first communication terminal or the first communication terminal in response to accepting a first operation for starting transmission / reception of communication data in the first communication terminal In response to receiving a second operation for starting transmission / reception of communication data with a second communication terminal using a second communication method different from the first communication method, the first communication terminal Receiving step for receiving the second start request information transmitted from
When receiving the first start request information in the receiving step, the first step is performed by transmitting a request for establishing a session with the first communication terminal to the relay device. When communication data is transmitted / received without going through the conversion system with the other communication terminal that has established a session with the relay device to the communication terminal, and when the second start request information is received by the receiving step, To establish a session via the conversion system with the second communication terminal corresponding to the address information input in the first communication terminal when the relay device accepts the second operation By transmitting a request for transmitting / receiving communication data via the second communication terminal, the relay device and the conversion system to the first communication terminal. And-flops,
The communication management method characterized by performing. A program causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 13.

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