JP5125903B2 - Communication terminal, communication quality control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication terminal and a communication system, and more particularly, to a communication terminal and a communication system capable of performing communication by executing a plurality of applications simultaneously. The present invention also relates to an available bandwidth estimation method, a communication quality control method, and a program in such a communication terminal.

  Due to the low cost of broadband communication lines, intranet / Internet communication has evolved from traditional voice calls to advanced communications that combine videophones, whiteboards for collaborative work, and data sharing applications such as document sharing. . In such a communication environment, it is possible to communicate while simultaneously using a plurality of applications, such as drawing on a shared whiteboard while talking on a videophone, and sending materials by file transfer as necessary.

  In the advanced communication environment, when the number of applications simultaneously used increases, the bandwidth required for communication increases accordingly. Even in a wide band, in an environment where a finite band is shared for various purposes, the bandwidth that can be used for communication is finite, and when one application uses more bandwidth, other applications can use it. Bandwidth decreases. If an application attempts to transmit data beyond the available bandwidth, data loss during communication, and associated retransmission and delay will occur. Data loss and delay lead to degradation of communication quality such as sound quality / image quality degradation and delay of response to operation. For this reason, in order to maintain the communication quality, it is indispensable to estimate the available bandwidth and perform data transmission according to it.

Patent Document 1 describes an example of a technique for estimating available bandwidth and performing communication based on the estimated bandwidth. FIG. 8 shows a communication system in Patent Document 1. The server 201 includes a transmission control unit 202 and a data transmission unit 203. The portable wireless terminal 210 includes a reception control unit 211 and a data reception unit 212. The data reception unit 212 notifies the reception control unit 211 of the data reception status, for example, the number of packet errors, the bit error rate, and the received electric field strength. The reception control unit 211 calculates the current transmission rate (bandwidth) and notifies the transmission control unit 202 of it. The transmission control unit 202 controls the data transmission unit 203 to change the transmission rate and the compression rate according to the transmission rate.
Republished patent WO2002 / 032082

  A problem in the technique described in Patent Document 1 is that the bandwidth cannot be estimated correctly when a plurality of applications simultaneously use the network. The reason is that, in a shared network, the mutual influence of simultaneous communication is ignored and band estimation is performed independently for each application.

  The present invention relates to a communication terminal, a communication system, an available bandwidth estimation method, a communication quality control method, and a program capable of estimating an available bandwidth in consideration of the influence even when a plurality of applications use the network simultaneously. The purpose is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, a communication terminal of the present invention is a communication terminal capable of simultaneously executing a plurality of applications communicating with another communication terminal and communicating with a user of the other communication terminal. there are, in the communication execution, collects data communication information including the data amount and communication time information of the data the application receives, based on the data communication information in a predetermined period, the other communication terminal of the communication partner Integrated band estimation means for estimating the available bandwidth between the plurality of applications, the integrated band estimation means receives data communication information related to data received by each application from the other communication terminal, and Combine data communication information of multiple applications within a given period Estimating the available bandwidth of the other communication terminals, characterized in that.

The communication system of the present invention is a communication system capable of simultaneously executing a plurality of applications communicating with other communication terminals on the terminal and communicating with the other communication terminal. collects data communication information including the data amount and communication time information of the data the application receives, based on the data communication information in a predetermined period, the available bandwidth between the other communication terminal of the communication partner estimating and a receiving terminal with integrated band estimating means for transmitting the estimation result, receives the estimation result of the available bandwidth the integrated band estimating means has transmitted, on the basis of the estimation result of the available bandwidth, the and a transmission terminal having an integrated transmission control means for controlling the application data transmission, the integrated band estimating means , Receiving data communication information related to data received from the other communication terminal by each application from the plurality of applications, and combining the data communication information of the plurality of applications within the predetermined period for use with the other communication terminal The possible bandwidth is estimated .

The method for estimating the available bandwidth of the present invention estimates the available bandwidth in a communication terminal capable of simultaneously executing a plurality of applications communicating with another communication terminal and communicating with a user of the other communication terminal. a method, wherein the communication terminal, during communication performed, the step of collecting data communication information including the data amount and communication time information of the data the application receives, the communication terminal, the data in a predetermined time period based on the communication information, wherein possess and estimating the available bandwidth between the other communication terminal of communication partner, wherein the step of collecting data communication information, from the plurality of applications, each application the Collect data communication information on data received from other communication terminals, In the step of estimating a use available bandwidth, to estimate the available bandwidth of said other communication terminal by combining the data communication information of a plurality of applications within said predetermined time period, characterized in that.

The communication quality control method of the present invention is a communication quality control method in a communication terminal capable of simultaneously executing a plurality of applications communicating with another communication terminal and communicating with a user of the other communication terminal. Te, wherein the communication terminal, during communication performed, the step of collecting data communication information including the data amount and communication time information of the data the application receives, the communication terminal, the communication information in a predetermined time period based on the steps of estimating the available bandwidth between the other communication terminal of the communication partner, the communication terminal, based on the estimation result of the available bandwidth, and controlling the data transmission applications Yes, and in the step of collecting the data communication information, whether the plurality of application In the step of collecting data communication information related to data received from each other communication terminal by each application and estimating the available bandwidth, the data communication information of a plurality of applications in the predetermined period is combined to The available bandwidth with the communication terminal is estimated .

Program of the present invention executes a plurality of applications to communicate with other communication terminals simultaneously, the computer that controls the communication terminal capable of performing user and communication of the other communication terminals, can take advantage bandwidth a program for executing a process of estimating, on the computer, in communication performed, the process of collecting data communication information including the data amount and communication time information of the data the application receives a predetermined period based on the data communication information in said caused to execute a process of estimating the available bandwidth between the other communication terminal communication partner, in the process of collecting the data communication information, from the plurality of applications, each Data communication related to data received by the application from the other communication terminal. Collecting information, in the process of estimating the available bandwidth estimates the available bandwidth of said other communication terminal by combining the data communication information of a plurality of applications within said predetermined time period, characterized in that .

  The communication terminal, communication system, usable bandwidth estimation method, communication quality control method, and program of the present invention can estimate the usable bandwidth in consideration of the influence even when a plurality of applications use the network simultaneously. It is.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a communication apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The communication device (communication terminal) 10 includes a data processing device 11 and a storage device 12. The data processing apparatus 11 includes a plurality of communication execution units 111 (111A to 111C), a data transmission unit 112 (112A to 112C), a data reception unit 113 (113A to 113C), an integrated transmission control unit 114, and an integrated band estimation unit. 115. The storage device 12 includes a transmission method storage unit 121, a communication information storage unit 122 (122C), and a band estimation method storage unit 123. The function of each means in the data processing device 11 can be realized by the data processing device operating according to a predetermined program.

  The communication terminal 10 realizes communication between users who use the communication terminal 10 by communicating with other communication terminals 10. The communication terminals 10 may communicate directly with each other, or may communicate using some kind of relay device. On the communication terminal 10, a plurality of applications (AP) used by the user for communication can be executed simultaneously. Each application includes a communication execution unit 111, a data transmission unit 112, and a data reception unit 113. Further, the application can have a communication information storage unit 122 that stores information related to communication. In FIG. 1, three applications are executed, and one of them (an application corresponding to the communication execution unit 111C) has the communication information storage unit 122C.

  The communication execution unit 111 performs input / output for the user and processing specific to the application. The communication execution unit 111 passes data to be transmitted to the communication partner to the data transmission unit 112. The data transmission unit 112 transmits the data passed from the communication execution unit 111 to the counterpart communication terminal 10. The data receiving unit 113 receives data transmitted from the counterpart communication terminal 10. The data receiving unit 113 passes the received data to the communication execution unit 111. The communication execution unit 111 processes the received data and performs output or the like as necessary.

  After receiving the data, the data receiving unit 113 notifies the integrated band estimation unit 115 of data communication information related to the received data. The data communication information includes the amount of data received by the application and communication time information. The communication time information includes time information regarding data transmission at the transmitting terminal and time information regarding data reception at the receiving side. As the time information related to data transmission at the transmission terminal, a data transmission time, a set of a data transmission start time and a data transmission end time, or the like can be considered. As the time information related to data reception, a data reception time, a set of a data reception start time and a data reception end time, or the like can be considered. The time information regarding the data transmission is given by the data transmission means 112 of the transmission terminal, and is transmitted to the receiving communication terminal 10 together with the data.

  The integrated bandwidth estimation unit 115 collects data communication information from the data reception unit 113 of each application, and uses the data communication information to use a bandwidth (data per unit time) that can be used between the two communication terminals 10 in communication. Throughput). At this time, the integrated band estimation means 115 estimates an available band based on the data communication information in a predetermined period. For example, when two applications transmit and receive data during a predetermined period, the integrated band estimation unit 115 receives data communication information from the two data reception units 113 corresponding to the two applications, respectively. By estimating the available bandwidth using the two data communication information, when a plurality of applications use the network at the same time, the available bandwidth can be estimated in consideration of the mutual influence.

  When the integrated band estimation unit 115 estimates the available band, the integrated band estimation unit 115 transmits the estimation result to the integrated transmission control unit 114 of the communication partner communication terminal 10. When the integrated transmission control unit 114 receives the estimation result of the available band, the integrated transmission control unit 114 controls the data transmission of all the running applications by using the estimation result of the available band. Specifically, the integrated transmission control unit 114 instructs the data transmission unit 112 of each application on a data transmission method. The quality of communication is controlled by the integrated transmission control means 114 instructing the data transmission means 112 to the data transmission method.

  Note that the bandwidth estimation method in the integrated bandwidth estimation means 115 may always be the same estimation method, or an appropriate one is selected from the bandwidth estimation method storage unit 123 according to the type and number of applications being executed and the communication method. The estimation method may be changed. Also, the transmission control in the integrated transmission control unit 114 may always be the same control method, or an appropriate control method from the transmission method storage unit 121 according to the type and number of applications being executed and the usage method of the user. The control method may be changed according to the situation.

  FIG. 2 shows communication between the communication terminals 10 during communication. In FIG. 2, for convenience, the communication terminal 10X is a transmission terminal and the communication terminal 10Y is a reception terminal. When the communication is bidirectional, the communication terminals 10X and 10Y serve as both a transmission terminal and a reception terminal. In FIG. 2, some of the components of the communication terminal 10 are omitted. As for the application, only the application A describes constituent elements in detail. The applications B and C have the same configuration as that of the application A.

  The transmission terminal 10X and the reception terminal 10Y are connected via a network and constitute a communication system. Between the transmission terminal 10X and the reception terminal 10Y, corresponding applications communicate with each other, and data is transmitted from the data transmission unit 112 of the transmission terminal 10X to the data reception unit 113 of the reception terminal 10Y according to the processing of the communication execution unit 111. Is sent. As other communication, the estimation result of the available band is transmitted from the integrated band estimation unit 115 of the receiving terminal 10Y to the integrated transmission control unit 114 of the transmitting terminal 10X.

  FIG. 3 shows a communication quality control procedure in the communication terminal. Various communication data are transmitted and received between the data transmission unit 112 and the data reception unit 113 between the communication terminals 10 that perform communication in accordance with user operations. The communication execution means 111 of each application shall transmit / receive application data intermittently.

  The data receiving unit 113 of any one of the applications in the communication terminal 10 receives the data transmitted by the data transmitting unit 112 of the communication terminal 10 that is the communication partner (step S11). When the data receiving unit 113 receives the data, the data receiving unit 113 sends the received data to the communication execution unit 111. Moreover, the data receiving means 113 notifies the integrated band estimation means 115 of the data communication information regarding received data for every data reception (step S12).

  When the integrated band estimation unit 115 receives the data communication information, the integrated band estimation unit 115 estimates the data throughput per unit time by combining the data communication information in a predetermined period, and uses the estimated band that can be used for communication from the transmission terminal to the reception terminal. The width is set (step S13). In step S13, the integrated band estimation means 115 holds the data communication information notified this time when it has received the data communication information from any application within a predetermined period from the notification time of the current data communication information. The available bandwidth is estimated in combination with the data communication information received in the past.

  The integrated band estimation unit 115 estimates the available band every time the data communication information is received from the data reception unit 113. Alternatively, the integrated bandwidth estimation unit 115 may estimate the available bandwidth every time the number of data communication information notifications reaches a predetermined number. Also, after estimating the available bandwidth once, the bandwidth estimation load may be reduced by not estimating the available bandwidth for a certain period.

  The integrated band estimation unit 115, after estimating the available band, transmits the estimation result (band estimation information) to the integrated transmission control unit 114 of the transmission terminal (step S14). Upon receiving the band estimation information, the integrated transmission control unit 114 controls the data transmission unit 112 of each application based on the received band estimation information (step S15). In step S15, the integrated transmission control unit 114 controls the data transmission of each application so that the data transmission of all applications falls within the estimated available bandwidth. The control of the data transmission unit 112 may be performed every time when the band estimation information is received, or may be performed when past band estimation information is stored and the band estimation information has a certain fluctuation. .

  For example, consider that the data receiving unit 113 of the application A receives data, and then the integrated band estimating unit 115 estimates the available band. After receiving the data, the data reception unit 113 notifies the integrated band estimation unit 115 of the data communication information in step S12. It is assumed that the integrated band estimation unit 115 has received notification of data communication information from the applications B and C before this, and holds the data communication information in the integrated band estimation unit 115. In step S13, the integrated band estimation unit 115 estimates the available band by combining the data communication information about the application A, the data communication information about the application B, and the data communication information about the application C.

  In this embodiment, the integrated band estimation means 115 estimates the available band based on data communication information for a predetermined period. When there are a plurality of types of applications that have received data during a predetermined period, the integrated bandwidth estimation unit 115 estimates the available bandwidth using data communication information about the plurality of applications. In the present embodiment, the integrated band estimation unit 115 aggregates the communication status of each application in a predetermined period, and estimates the communication band in consideration of their mutual influence. For this reason, even when a plurality of applications use the network at the same time, it is possible to estimate the use band in consideration of the influence.

  Here, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, estimation of a band is performed when each application performs communication. For this reason, in Patent Document 1, an application with low communication frequency can only be controlled based on the estimated bandwidth when communication was performed previously, and cannot follow the fluctuation of the available communication bandwidth. In the present embodiment, even when there is an application with low communication frequency, it is possible to perform data transmission control based on the estimation result of the available bandwidth triggered by data transmission (data reception) of another application. Therefore, transmission control can be performed for applications with low communication frequency following changes in the communication band.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration of the communication terminal in the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as the configuration of the communication terminal in the first embodiment shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the communication execution means 111 of each application shall transmit / receive data continuously. The data receiving unit 113 continuously receives data transmitted from the data transmitting unit 112 of the transmitting terminal, and periodically notifies the integrated band estimation unit 115 of data communication information including the data amount and communication time information. .

  For example, the data receiving unit 113 calculates the amount of received data from the start of communication (after the start of data reception) and the time during which communication is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed since the communication execution unit 111 started communication. The integrated band estimation means 115 is notified. Thereafter, the data reception unit 113 notifies the integrated band estimation unit 115 of the received data amount from the previous notification time and the time when the communication was performed at regular time intervals.

  FIG. 4 shows a communication quality control procedure in the present embodiment. The data reception unit 113 of each application notifies the integrated band estimation unit 115 as data communication information of the amount of received data from the previous notification time and the time when communication was performed at regular time intervals (step S21). Upon receiving notification of data communication information from the data receiving unit 113 of each application, the integrated band estimating unit 115 estimates an available band from the received data amount and communication time of each application (step S22). The subsequent operation is the same as in the first embodiment, and the integrated band estimation unit 115 notifies the integrated transmission control unit 114 of the estimation result of the available band (step S14), and the integrated transmission control unit 114 receives the received result. Transmission control is performed using the estimation result of the available bandwidth (step S15).

  In this embodiment, the integrated band estimation means 115 estimates an available band based on the data communication information notified at regular intervals from each application that is executing communication. In the present embodiment, it is possible to obtain an estimation result of the available bandwidth at regular intervals for an application in which data such as video and audio is continuously transmitted and received. Further, data transmission control according to the estimation result of the usable bandwidth is possible.

  Subsequently, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration of the communication terminal in the third embodiment is the same as the configuration of the communication terminal in the first embodiment shown in FIG. Applications include applications that transmit and receive data intermittently and applications that transmit and receive data continuously. The data receiving unit 113 of the application that intermittently transmits and receives data notifies the integrated band estimating unit 115 of data communication information including the received data amount and communication time information every time data is received. On the other hand, the data receiving unit 113 of the application that continuously transmits and receives data notifies the integrated band estimating unit 115 of the data communication information at regular time intervals.

  When the integrated band estimation unit 115 receives the data communication information from the data reception unit 113, the integrated band estimation unit 115 estimates the data throughput based on the data communication information in a predetermined period. At that time, the integrated band estimation means 115 divides data communication information from an application that continuously receives data and data communication information from an application that intermittently receives data, and calculates data throughput for each. Combine them to estimate the overall data throughput.

  For example, the integrated band estimation unit 115 receives an application identifier from the data reception unit 113, and based on the application identifier, the application that transmitted the data communication information receives the data continuously or receives the data intermittently. Determine if it is an application. The correspondence relationship between the application identifier and the application type (information indicating whether the application intermittently transmits / receives data or the application that continuously transmits / receives data) is stored in the storage device 12, for example. And Alternatively, the integrated band estimation unit 115 may receive information indicating the type of application from the data reception unit 113.

  FIG. 5 shows a communication quality control procedure in this embodiment. When receiving data (step S11), the data receiving unit 113 of an application with intermittent transmission / reception data notifies the integrated band estimating unit 115 of the data communication information (step S12). The data receiving unit 113 of an application that continuously transmits and receives data notifies the integrated band estimation unit 115 of data communication information at regular time intervals (step S21). Steps S11 and S12 in FIG. 5 correspond to steps S11 and S12 in FIG. Further, step S21 in FIG. 5 corresponds to step S21 in FIG.

  The integrated band estimation means 115 estimates the available band at predetermined time intervals using the data communication information notified up to that point (step S31). For example, the integrated band estimation unit 115 may determine the data throughput obtained based on the data communication information of the application that intermittently receives data in a predetermined period and the data communication information of the application that continuously receives data in the predetermined period. The sum with the data throughput obtained based on is estimated as an available bandwidth. The subsequent operation is the same as in the first embodiment, and the integrated band estimation unit 115 notifies the integrated transmission control unit 114 of the estimation result of the available band (step S14), and the integrated transmission control unit 114 receives the received result. Transmission control is performed using the estimation result of the available bandwidth (step S15).

  In this embodiment, the integrated band estimation means 115 receives data communication information for each data reception for each application that receives data intermittently from each application that is executing communication, and is constant for each application that continuously receives data. Receive data communication information every hour. The integrated band estimation unit 115 estimates the available band based on the data communication information received during a predetermined period. In the present embodiment, it is possible to obtain an estimation result of the available bandwidth at regular intervals in a situation where an application that intermittently transmits and receives data and an application that continuously transmits and receives data are mixed. In addition, transmission control of data according to the estimation result of the usable bandwidth becomes possible.

  Examples will be described below. This example is an example corresponding to the third embodiment. As the communication terminal 10, a personal computer (PC) is used. The data processing device 11 includes a central processing unit and a memory. A hard disk drive is used as the storage device 12. The function of each means in the data processing device 11 is realized by the central processing unit executing the computer program on the memory.

  The communication terminal 10 is connected to a LAN (Local Area Network), and the LANs are connected to each other via a WAN (Wide Area Network). An Internet protocol is used for communication between the communication terminals 10. Applications executed on the communication terminal 10 include a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) application (telephone), a shared whiteboard, file transfer, and chat. The user communicates using these applications. These applications can be used simultaneously.

  The data transmission / reception method differs depending on the application. VoIP transmits and receives data at 64 kbps. VoIP continuously transmits and receives data at a constant rate. The shared whiteboard is a tool for sharing graphics, characters, and images on the terminal, and transmits and receives graphics, characters, and image data according to user operations. The shared whiteboard intermittently transmits and receives data of different sizes depending on the data to be transmitted. In the file transfer, a file designated by the user is transmitted / received in accordance with a user operation. In file transfer, data of different sizes is intermittently transmitted and received according to the file to be transferred. Bandwidth usage at the time of transmission / reception for shared whiteboard and file transfer is bursty, and it tries to use the bandwidth available at that time as much as possible.

  The VoIP application of the receiving terminal notifies the data communication information to the integrated band estimation unit 115 after 5 seconds from the start of communication, and thereafter notifies the data communication information to the integrated band estimation unit 115 every 30 seconds (FIG. 5). Step S21). In addition, the shared white beat application and the file transfer application notify the integrated band estimation unit 115 of the data communication information every time data is received (steps S11 and S12).

  The integrated bandwidth estimation means 115 estimates the available bandwidth every 30 seconds after 10 seconds from the start of communication based on the data communication information notified after the previous available bandwidth estimation (step S31). For example, in the estimation of the available bandwidth performed 70 seconds after the start of communication, the integrated bandwidth estimation unit 115 estimates the available bandwidth based on the data communication information received after 40 seconds from the start of communication.

  The VoIP application continuously receives data at 64 kbps. The integrated band estimation means 115 receives data communication information (received data amount, communication time) = (240 kbytes, 30 seconds) from the VoIP application 65 seconds after the start of communication. FIG. 6 shows data communication information received after 40 seconds from the start of communication. Both the file transfer and shared whiteboard applications receive four pieces of data between 40 seconds after the start of communication and 70 seconds after the start of communication. The integrated band estimation means 115 receives data communication information of four data from both applications.

  The integrated bandwidth estimation means 115 calculates the available bandwidth of the stream application based on the data communication information notified from the stream application (VoIP). The integrated band estimation means 115 estimates the available band of the burst application based on the data communication information notified from the burst application (shared whiteboard, file transfer). The integrated band estimation unit 115 sets the sum of the available band of the stream application and the available band of the burst application as the estimated available band.

The integrated bandwidth estimation means 115 uses a certain bandwidth continuously for the stream application,
The available bandwidth of the stream AP is calculated by the following formula: Available bandwidth = Received data amount / Communication time. On the other hand, the integrated bandwidth estimation means 115 uses the average total used bandwidth for burst-type applications because the burst-type application tries to use the bandwidth as much as possible.
Available bandwidth of burst AP = total sum of received data amount / time when data is flowing.

The integrated band estimation means 115 receives the data communication information indicating the VoIP application or the received data amount: 240 kbytes and the communication time of 30 seconds 65 seconds after the start of communication. The integrated bandwidth estimation means 115 calculates the available bandwidth of the stream application from 40 seconds after the start of communication to 70 seconds after the start of communication.
240 kbytes / 30 seconds = 1920 kbits / 30 seconds = 64 kbps
And calculate.

The available bandwidth for burst applications is calculated as follows. Referring to FIG. 6, the total amount of received data of the burst-type application from 40 seconds after the start of communication to 70 seconds after the start of communication is 500 kbytes + 30 kbytes + 30 kbytes + 56 kbytes = 616 kbytes. Also, if the time during which burst application data is received within 30 seconds from 40 seconds after the start of communication to 70 seconds after the start of communication is examined, the time when the data is received is determined from the 40 seconds after the start of communication. 11 seconds is obtained by adding 10 seconds until 50 seconds after the start and 1 second after 52 seconds after the start of communication and 52 seconds after the start of communication. Therefore, the integrated bandwidth estimation means 115 calculates the available bandwidth of the burst application.
616 kbytes / 11 seconds = 4928 kbit / 11 seconds = 448 kbps
And calculate.

  The integrated band estimation means 115 estimates the sum of both, that is, 64 kbps + 448 kbps = 512 kbps as an available band from 40 seconds after the start of communication to 70 seconds after the start of communication. The integrated band estimation means 115 notifies the transmission terminal of the available band estimation result (512 kbps) (step S14). The integrated transmission control means 114 of the transmission terminal controls the transmission method of each application based on the received estimation result of the available bandwidth (step S15).

  FIG. 7 shows an example of transmission control of a VoIP application. The transmission method storage unit 121 (FIG. 1) stores the table shown in FIG. 7 as the transmission method of the VoIP application. The VoIP application can perform transmission control in three stages of communication quality “high”, “medium”, and “low”. Based on the estimation result of the available band transmitted from the integrated band estimation unit 115 of the receiving terminal according to the table shown in FIG. 7, the integrated transmission control unit 114 determines the VoIP application with the highest priority among the three applications. Determine the required bandwidth.

  The integrated transmission control means 114 compares the estimation result of the available bandwidth (512 kbps) with the necessary bandwidth (64 kbps) when the quality is “high”. In this example, even when the quality is “high”, the available bandwidth (512 kbps) exceeds the required bandwidth (64 kbps). Therefore, the integrated transmission control unit 114 sets the quality “high” in the VoIP application so as to realize high-quality communication. Further, the integrated transmission control means 114 notifies 512 kbps−64 kbps to 448 kbps as the maximum usable bandwidth for both file transfer and shared whiteboard applications, and instructs to communicate without exceeding this bandwidth.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the suitable embodiment, the communication terminal of this invention, a communication system, the usable bandwidth estimation method, the communication quality control method, and a program are limited only to the said embodiment. The present invention includes various modifications and changes made from the configuration of the above embodiment.

The block diagram which shows the communication terminal of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the communication between the communication terminals in communication. The flowchart which shows an operation | movement procedure. The flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure in 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure in 3rd Embodiment. A table showing data communication information. Table showing an example of VoIP application transmission control The block diagram which shows the communication system in patent document 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10: Communication terminal 11: Data processing device 12: Storage device 111: Communication execution unit 112: Data transmission unit 113: Data reception unit 114: Integrated transmission control unit 115: Integrated band estimation unit 121: Transmission method storage unit 122: Communication information Storage unit 123: Band estimation method storage unit

Claims (11)

A communication terminal capable of simultaneously executing a plurality of applications communicating with another communication terminal and communicating with a user of the other communication terminal ,
During communication execution, it collects data communication information including the data amount and communication time information of the data the application receives, based on the data communication information in a predetermined period, between the other communication terminal of the communication partner an integrated bandwidth estimation means for estimating the available bandwidth,
The integrated band estimation means receives data communication information related to data received by each application from the other communication terminal from the plurality of applications, and combines the data communication information of the plurality of applications within the predetermined period. A communication terminal that estimates the available bandwidth with other communication terminals. The integrated band estimating means, the type of the application being executed, the number, and, according to at least one communication method, bandwidth estimation using the bandwidth estimation method storage unit for storing the bandwidth estimation scheme estimates the available bandwidth The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein a method is selected, and the available bandwidth is estimated according to the selected bandwidth estimation method. On the basis of the integrated band estimated available bandwidth at estimating means further comprises an integrated transmission control means for controlling the data transmission of the application, the communication terminal according to claim 1 or 2. The integrated transmission control unit, the type of the application being executed, the number, and, according to at least one of usage of the user, using the transmission method storing unit for storing the control method in controlling the data transmission The communication terminal according to claim 3 , wherein a control method is selected, and data transmission of the application is controlled in accordance with the selected control method. Receiving data from said other communication terminals, further comprising a data receiving means for notifying the information about the reception time of the received data amount and the data on the integrated band estimation unit, according to any one of claims 1 to 4 Communication terminal. 6. The communication terminal according to claim 5 , wherein the data receiving unit notifies the integrated band estimation unit of the received data amount and the communication time information every time data is received. The communication terminal according to claim 5 , wherein the data receiving unit notifies the integrated band estimation unit of the received data amount and the communication time information periodically at predetermined intervals. A communication system capable of simultaneously executing a plurality of applications communicating with another communication terminal on the terminal and communicating with the other communication terminal ,
During communication execution, it collects data communication information including the data amount and communication time information of the data the application receives, based on the data communication information in a predetermined period, between the other communication terminal of the communication partner A receiving terminal having an integrated band estimation means for estimating the available bandwidth of and transmitting the estimation result;
Receives the estimation result of the available bandwidth the integrated band estimating means has transmitted, on the basis of the estimation result of the available bandwidth, a transmission terminal having an integrated transmission control means for controlling the data transmission of the application,
The integrated band estimation means receives data communication information related to data received by each application from the other communication terminal from the plurality of applications, and combines the data communication information of the plurality of applications within the predetermined period. A communication system for estimating an available bandwidth with a communication terminal . A method for estimating an available bandwidth in a communication terminal capable of simultaneously executing a plurality of applications communicating with another communication terminal and communicating with a user of the other communication terminal ,
A step wherein the communication terminal, that during communication execution, collects data communication information including the data amount and communication time information of the data the application receives,
Wherein the communication terminal, based on the data communication information in a predetermined period, possess and estimating the available bandwidth between the other communication terminal of the communication partner,
In the step of collecting the data communication information, in the step of collecting data communication information related to data received from each of the other communication terminals by each application from the plurality of applications, and in the step of estimating the available bandwidth, the predetermined period Combining the data communication information of a plurality of applications in the network to estimate the available bandwidth with the other communication terminal,
Available bandwidth estimation method. A communication quality control method in a communication terminal capable of simultaneously executing a plurality of applications communicating with another communication terminal and communicating with a user of the other communication terminal ,
A step wherein the communication terminal, that during communication execution, collects data communication information including the data amount and communication time information of the data the application receives,
A step wherein the communication terminal, based on said data communication information in a predetermined period, estimating the available bandwidth between the other communication terminal of the communication partner,
Wherein the communication terminal, based on the estimation result of the available bandwidth, possess and controlling the data transmission applications,
In the step of collecting the data communication information, from the plurality of applications, each application collects data communication information related to data received from the other communication terminal,
In the step of estimating the available bandwidth, a communication quality control method of estimating the available bandwidth with the other communication terminal by combining data communication information of a plurality of applications within the predetermined period . A plurality of applications that communicate with other communication terminals are simultaneously executed , and a computer that controls the communication terminal capable of communicating with the user of the other communication terminal is caused to execute processing for estimating the available bandwidth A program for the computer ,
During communication execution, the process of collecting data communication information including the data amount and communication time information of the data the application receives,
Based on the data communication information in a predetermined period, the available bandwidth to execute the processing for estimating the between the other communication terminal of the communication partner,
In the process of collecting the data communication information, from the plurality of applications, each application collects data communication information related to data received from the other communication terminal,
In the process of estimating the available bandwidth, a program for estimating the available bandwidth with the other communication terminal by combining data communication information of a plurality of applications within the predetermined period .

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