JP5494129B2 - Communication system and communication method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system and a communication method for recording communication information such as video information and audio information transmitted and received in a remote conference performed by terminal devices at a plurality of bases connected via a network.

  The video conference system transmits and receives video information, audio information, and the like between each site when a conference is held between a plurality of sites. The terminal device at each site reproduces the transmitted and received video information and audio information. A user at each site can hold a remote conference using video information and audio information reproduced by the terminal device at his site. Such a video conference system is a so-called server / client system, which often performs video information and audio information from each client terminal device via the server, but it solves the problem of increased load on the server. Therefore, a method called a P2P type in which client terminal devices directly transmit and receive video information and audio information is also increasing.

  A person who participates in a remote conference or a person who fails to participate may record communication information such as video information and audio information reproduced in the remote conference in order to grasp the contents of the remote conference. However, in the case of the P2P type video conference system, since the server is not relayed, the communication information is recorded at the terminal device of each client. However, since the recording process is performed during the remote conference, the recording processing load is increased. As a result, there was a problem that the remote conference could not be performed smoothly. In addition, since communication information is recorded in the terminal device of each client, in order to share the recorded communication information for those who have participated in remote conferences or who have not been able to participate, it is necessary to save them separately on another server. There was a problem that it took time and effort.

  In recent years, a client who wants to record video information connects a camera server and a video storage server, and the camera server transmits captured video information to the client and the video storage server. A network system for recording video information transmitted from a camera server has been proposed (Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-336346 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, since a camera server and a video storage server are connected by a client that requests recording of video information, when a plurality of clients request recording of video information, all clients An example is a problem that requires a connection between a camera server and a video storage server.

  In addition, since each video storage server is selected by each client, when there are a plurality of video storage servers, there is a problem that video information for a plurality of clients cannot be recorded by the same video storage server. That is, there is a problem that the video storage server selected by each client differs depending on the connection environment of each client to the network, such as NAT (Network Address Translation) and firewall.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention selects a recording device suitable for recording communication information in which each terminal device performs mutual communication, and performs communication by P2P communication between each terminal device and the recording device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication system and a communication method capable of appropriately recording information.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a communication system according to claim 1 is connected to a network and communicates with a plurality of terminal devices that perform communication communication including video information or audio information by P2P communication. A communication system including at least one recording device capable of recording the communication information, wherein the plurality of terminal devices are configured to communicate with each other between the plurality of terminal devices by the P2P communication. When there is a recording instruction from any of the above, a selection unit that selects a recording device that records the communication information based on a predetermined condition, the plurality of terminal devices based on a result selected by the selection unit, Based on the connection means for establishing the connection of the P2P communication with the recording device, and the connection establishment by the connection means, the plurality of terminal devices Includes but a transmitting means for transmitting the communication information to the recording device, the communication information transmitted by said transmitting means, and a said recording apparatus for recording in association with intercommunication between said plurality of terminal devices The selection unit acquires performance information related to the performance of one or more recording devices, and selects the recording device that records the communication information based on the performance information.

The communication system according to claim 2 is connected to a network, and a plurality of terminal devices that perform communication communication including video information or audio information by P2P communication, and one or more recording devices capable of recording the communication information The communication information that is mutually communicated between the plurality of terminal devices by the P2P communication, when a recording instruction is received from any of the plurality of terminal devices, a predetermined condition A selection unit that selects a recording device that records the communication information based on the information, and a connection of the P2P communication between the plurality of terminal devices and the recording device based on a result selected by the selection unit. A plurality of terminal devices transmitting the communication information to the recording device based on connection means for establishing and establishment of connection by the connection means; A transmission unit that, the communication information transmitted by said transmitting means, and a said recording apparatus for recording in association with intercommunication between said plurality of terminal devices, said selection means, said communication by said recording device Recording area information relating to a recording area in which information is recorded is acquired, and the recording apparatus is reselected based on the recording area information.

The communication system according to claim 3 is connected to a network, and a plurality of terminal devices that perform communication of communication information including video information or audio information by P2P communication, and one or more recording devices capable of recording the communication information The communication information that is mutually communicated between the plurality of terminal devices by the P2P communication, when a recording instruction is received from any of the plurality of terminal devices, a predetermined condition A selection unit that selects a recording device that records the communication information based on the information, and a connection of the P2P communication between the plurality of terminal devices and the recording device based on a result selected by the selection unit. A plurality of terminal devices transmitting the communication information to the recording device based on connection means for establishing and establishment of connection by the connection means; That the transmitting unit, the communication information transmitted by said transmitting means, and a said recording apparatus for recording in association with intercommunication between said plurality of terminal devices, have been of the communication information recorded in the recording device The information processing apparatus further comprises notification means for informing the recording destination information to the contact information regarding the plurality of terminal devices or users of the plurality of terminal devices.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the communication system according to the first aspect, wherein the connection is made to the terminal device in which the communication information is mutually communicated by the P2P communication based on a result selected by the selection unit. And means for notifying recording instruction information related to the recording instruction for establishing a connection of the P2P communication by means.
The communication system according to claim 5 is characterized in that, in the above invention, the selecting means selects the recording device based on a connection environment of the plurality of terminal devices or the recording device to the network.
The communication system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the communication system according to the sixth aspect , wherein the recording device is configured to store at least a part of the communication information transmitted by the transmission unit based on a state of mutual communication between the plurality of terminal devices. It is characterized by recording.

A communication program according to claim 7 is connected to a network and communicates communication information including video information or audio information by P2P communication to a computer of a plurality of terminal devices. When there is a recording instruction from any of the plurality of terminal devices for the communication information to be communicated with each other, a selection step of selecting a recording device that records the communication information based on a predetermined condition, and the selection step Based on the selected result, a connection step for establishing connection of the P2P communication between the plurality of terminal devices and the recording device, and based on establishment of connection by the connection step, A transmission step in which the terminal device transmits the communication information to the recording device; and the communication information transmitted in the transmission step A recording step of recording in association with intercommunication between said plurality of terminal devices by the recording apparatus, is executed, the selection step acquires the performance information on the performance of one or more storage devices, on the basis of the performance information The recording apparatus for recording the communication information is selected .
A communication program according to claim 8 is connected to a network and is connected to a computer of a plurality of terminal devices that perform communication communication including video information or audio information by P2P communication, and between the plurality of terminal devices by P2P communication. When there is a recording instruction from any of the plurality of terminal devices for the communication information to be communicated with each other, a selection step of selecting a recording device that records the communication information based on a predetermined condition, and the selection step Based on the selected result, a connection step for establishing connection of the P2P communication between the plurality of terminal devices and the recording device, and based on establishment of connection by the connection step, A transmission step in which the terminal device transmits the communication information to the recording device; and the communication information transmitted in the transmission step A recording step of recording in association with mutual communication between the plurality of terminal devices by the recording device, and the selection step acquires recording region information relating to a recording region in which the communication information is recorded by the recording device, The recording apparatus is reselected based on the recording area information.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a recording device suitable for recording communication information that is communicated between a plurality of terminal devices is selected, and P2P communication is established between the plurality of terminal devices and the recording device. By doing so, it is possible to record without disturbing the remote conference, and it is possible to access the recording device and share the content of the conference after the remote conference. Further, since the recording device that records the communication information can be selected based on the performance information of the recording device, the selection of the recording device can be optimized.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the recording device is not re-selected based on the recording area information of the recording device, and there is no shortage of the communication information recording area, the communication information can be recorded without omission. Can be planned.
According to the third aspect of the invention, since the recording destination information of the communication information can be notified to the user of the terminal device, the user can easily and surely confirm the communication information recorded by the recording device. Can do.

According to the invention described in claim 4 , by notifying the terminal device of the recording instruction information, the user can confirm that the communication information is recorded before recording the communication information.

According to the invention described in claim 5 , since the recording device can be selected based on the connection environment to the network, it is most suitable for mutual communication with each terminal device and access after the remote conference to the recorded communication information. Can be selected.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the recording device is not re-selected based on the recording area information of the recording device, and there is no shortage of the recording area of the communication information, the communication information can be recorded without omission. Can be planned.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the recording destination information of the communication information can be notified to the user of the terminal device, the user can easily and surely confirm the communication information recorded by the recording device. Can do.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since communication information can be recorded based on the state of mutual communication, the communication information to be recorded can be reliably recorded.

According to the invention described in claim 7 , since the recording device can be selected based on the connection environment to the network, it is most suitable for mutual communication with each terminal device and access after the remote conference to the recorded communication information. Can be selected. Further, since the recording device that records the communication information can be selected based on the performance information of the recording device, the selection of the recording device can be optimized.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the recording device is not re-selected based on the recording area information of the recording device, and there is no shortage of the recording area of the communication information, the communication information can be recorded without omission. Can be planned.

  As described above, according to the communication system and the communication method according to the present invention, each terminal device selects a recording device suitable for recording communication information in which mutual communication is performed, and each terminal device, the recording device, The communication information can be appropriately recorded by the P2P communication between the two.

It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the video conference system of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a functional structure of the video conference terminal of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a functional structure of the recording device of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the communication information of the video conference recorded by the recording device of embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the process outline | summary of the whole video conference system of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the process of the video conference terminal which selects the recording device of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the process of the recording device of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the process of the video conference terminal which receives the recording instruction information of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the process of the video conference terminal which selects the recording device of the modification of this invention.

  Exemplary embodiments of a communication system and a communication method according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment)
(overall structure)
The case where the communication system and the communication method according to the embodiment of the present invention are realized by a video conference system that performs video conferences at a plurality of sites will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a video conference system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the video conference system 100 reproduces video information and audio information transmitted and received by the video conference terminals 110 a and 110 b installed at the bases A and B by the video conference terminals 110 a and 110 b, thereby , B, the remote conference by the users A1, A2, B is executed. In the following description, when the bases A and B are not particularly distinguished from each other, “a” and “b” which are symbols at the end of the symbols are omitted.

  The video conference terminal 110 is connected to the internal network INW of the local site. The internal network INW is connected to one or more video conference terminals 110 and a recording device 150 capable of recording various information. The internal network INW is connected to the external network ONW at each site via the NAT device 101 and the firewall 102. Although the detailed description is omitted because it is a known technique, the NAT device 101 and the firewall 102 convert the IP address and the port number between the internal network INW and the external network ONW, and limit the internal address. Security related to communication in the network INW is maintained.

  The external network ONW is connected to the internal networks INW of the bases A and B, and is connected to a recording device 150 capable of recording various information transmitted and received between the video conference terminals 110 of the bases A and B. In FIG. 1, one recording apparatus 150 is connected to each of the bases A and B and the external network ONW. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, at least one recording device 150 may be installed in the video conference system 100 according to the present embodiment, and a plurality of recording devices 150 may be installed in each of the bases A and B and the external network ONW.

  In FIG. 1, a case where a video conference is performed at two bases A and B will be described, but a video conference may be performed at three or more bases. In addition, the video conference terminals 110a and 110b are described as being connected to each other via the networks ONW and INW. However, the video conference terminals 110a and 110b are connected to each other via a management server installed at an arbitrary position on the networks ONW and INW. It may be configured. The networks ONW and INW may be the Internet, a LAN (local area network), a public telephone line network, or the like.

  The video conference terminal 110 acquires the video information and audio information of the users A1, A2, and B at the local site using the camera 212 and the microphone 214 (see FIG. 2). The video conference terminal 110 transmits the acquired video information and audio information of its own base to the video conference terminal 110 of another base.

  The video conference terminal 110 receives the video information and audio information of the users A1, A2, and B transmitted from the video conference terminal 110 at another base. The video conference terminal 110 reproduces the received video information and audio information of the users A1, A2, and B of other bases by the display 211 and the speaker 213 (see FIG. 2).

  That is, the video conference terminal 110 reproduces the video information and audio information of the users A1, A2, and B transmitted / received to / from each other. Users A1, A2, and B perform video conferences between remotely located users by viewing video information and audio information of other sites reproduced by the video conference terminal 110 at their sites.

  When recording communication information such as video information and audio information transmitted and received in a video conference, the users A1, A2, and B record the communication information by any of the recording devices 150 (see FIG. 2), a recording instruction is input. The video conference terminal 110 to which the recording instruction is input selects the recording device 150 suitable for recording the communication information from the recording devices 150 installed on the video conference system 100. In this embodiment, the video conference terminal 110 that has received an input of a recording instruction will be described as selecting the recording device 150, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, the video conference terminal 110 that has received the input of the recording instruction may notify other video conference terminals 110 to select the recording device 150, or a management server (for performing call control between the video conference terminals 110). The recording device 150 may be selected by, for example, not shown.

  The selection of the recording device 150 is performed based on the network connection environment between the video conference terminals 110 participating in the video conference and the recording device 150, for example. Specifically, for example, when a video conference is being held between the video conference terminals 110a in the site A and it is desired that people in the same network can easily use the recorded communication information, The recording device 150a is selected. In addition, when a video conference is performed between the video conference terminals 110 between the bases A and B, the recording device 150 connected to the external network ONW is selected. In this way, for example, by selecting the recording device 150 based on the network connection environment as the predetermined condition, the communication information can be recorded by the recording device 150 that can easily record the communication information.

  When the video conference terminal 110 selects the recording device 150 that records communication information such as video information and audio information related to the video conference, the P2P communication between the video conference terminals 110 participating in the video conference and the recording device 150 is performed. Establish. Specifically, for example, the video conference terminal 110 notifies the recording instruction information including the destination information of the recording device 150 to the plurality of video conference terminals 110 participating in the video conference. The video conference terminal 110 notified of the recording instruction information establishes a P2P communication connection with the recording device 150 by call control based on the destination information. In the present embodiment, the video conference terminal 110 has been described as notifying the recording instruction information to the plurality of video conference terminals 110, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the video conference terminal 110 that has selected the recording device 150 notifies the selected recording device 150 of the recording instruction information including the destination information of the video conference terminal 110 participating in the video conference, and the recording device 150. Establishes a P2P communication connection with a plurality of video conference terminals by call control based on the destination information.

  Each video conference terminal 110 transmits communication information such as video information and audio information to the video conference terminal 110 that is conducting a video conference and the recording apparatus 150 that has newly established a P2P communication connection. The recording device 150 records the communication information transmitted from each video conference terminal 110 on the recording medium 308 in association with information such as the subject of the video conference being conducted, attendees, and materials used. The recording device 150 stores the recording destination information such as the URL indicating the recording destination of the communication information on the video conference terminal 110 that is conducting the video conference, that is, the video conference terminal 110 that is the transmission source of the communication information or the video conference terminal 110. Inform users A1, A2 and B. Specifically, the recording device 150 includes the address information of the video conference terminal 110 acquired at the time of call control of the video conference terminal 110 and the users A1, A2, and B acquired from the users A1, A2, and B. The recording destination information is notified based on the contact information such as the e-mail address.

(Functional configuration)
(Video conference terminal)
A functional configuration of the video conference terminal 110 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the video conference terminal according to the embodiment of this invention.

  In FIG. 2, the video conference terminal 110 inputs and outputs video to and from a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 202, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 203, a display 211 and a camera 212. Video I / F 204 to be controlled, audio I / F 205 that controls input / output of audio to / from speaker 213 and microphone 214, operation unit 206 that receives input of various information, and communication I that controls communication with external devices / F207 and a recording medium 208 for recording various types of information. Each component of the video conference terminal 110 is connected by a bus 200.

  The CPU 201 controls the entire video conference terminal 110. The CPU 201 executes various programs read from the ROM 203 using the RAM 202 as a work area.

  The video I / F 204 displays various information on the display 211 under the control of the CPU 201. The video I / F 204 is, for example, a video of the local site A or B that is captured by the camera 212, video information received from the video conference terminal 110 of another site that is the site B or A, and the like. A processing screen for performing operations related to the video conference with the base is displayed on the display 211.

  The video I / F 204 images the video information of the user at the local site by the camera 212 under the control of the CPU 201. The video I / F 204 outputs video information captured by the camera 212 to the recording medium 208 according to the control of the CPU 201.

  The audio I / F 205 causes the speaker 213 to output various audio information according to the control of the CPU 201. The audio I / F 205 causes the speaker 213 to output audio information received from the video conference terminal 110 at another site, audio information regarding a video conference with another site, and the like.

  The voice I / F 205 collects voice information of the user at the local site by the microphone 214 under the control of the CPU 201. The audio I / F 205 outputs the audio information collected by the microphone 214 to the recording medium 208 according to the control of the CPU 201.

  The operation unit 206 receives input of various information from a user or the like. The operation unit 206 includes a touch panel, operation buttons, and the like. The operation unit 206 accepts input of information regarding a video conference and outputs an input signal to the CPU 201. In the present embodiment, the operation unit 206 receives an instruction to record communication information such as video information and audio information that is reproduced in a video conference.

  Although details will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8, when the CPU 201 receives an input of a recording instruction by the operation unit 206, the other video conference terminal 110 and the television that perform the video conference via the communication I / F 207 are provided. The network connection environment in the recording device 150 in the conference system 100 is acquired. The connection environment is acquired by, for example, inquiring of a management server that performs call control of P2P connection between the video conference terminals 110 or by inquiring of another video conference terminal 110 that is conducting a video conference. That is, the management server records address information of the recording device 150 on the video conference system 100. The video conference terminal 110 has a configuration in which the address information and the like of the recording device 150 connected to the internal network INW of the local site is recorded on the recording medium 208.

  When the CPU 201 acquires the connection environment to the network of the video conference terminal 110 and the recording device 150 on the video conference system 100, the CPU 201 selects the recording device 150 as a recording destination of the communication information based on the acquired connection environment. The video conference terminal 110 establishes P2P communication between the recording device 150 and the plurality of video conference terminals 110 participating in the video conference.

  The communication I / F 207 is connected to a network such as an external network ONW or an internal network INW through a communication line, and is connected to other video conference terminals 110 and other external devices via this network. The communication I / F 207 controls the interface between the network and the video conference terminal 110, and controls data input / output with respect to the external device. As the communication I / F 207, for example, a modem or a LAN adapter can be employed.

  The communication I / F 207 transmits the video information and audio information of the local site recorded on the recording medium 208 to the video conference terminal 110 and the recording device 150 of another site via the network according to the control of the CPU 201. The communication I / F 207 transmits video information and audio information via the network at a predetermined timing according to the control of the CPU 201.

  The recording medium 208 is an HD (hard disk) or an FD (flexible disk) as an example of a removable recording medium. The recording medium 208 has respective drive devices, and various data are recorded under the control of the CPU 201. Further, data is read from the recording medium 208 according to the control of each drive device. In the present embodiment, the recording medium 208 records address information of the recording device 150 connected to the internal network INW of the local site.

(Recording device)
A functional configuration of the recording apparatus 150 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 3, a recording apparatus 150 includes a CPU 301, a RAM 302, a ROM 303, an operation unit 306 that receives input of various information, a communication I / F 307 that controls communication with an external device, and a recording medium that records various information. 308. In addition, each component of the recording apparatus 150 is connected by a bus 300. The description of the functions of the respective functional units shown in FIG. 3 is omitted for the same functions as those of the CPU 201, RAM 202, ROM 203, operation unit 206, communication I / F 207, and recording medium 208 shown in FIG. In the description of FIG. 3, a display, a camera, a video I / F, a speaker, a microphone, an audio I / F, and the like are not particularly illustrated, but a configuration provided in the recording device 150 may be used. That is, in the video conference system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the video conference terminal 110 may function as the recording device 150.

  When the P2P connection with the video conference terminal 110 is established, the recording medium 308 records communication information received via the communication I / F 307 according to the control of the CPU 301. Specifically, for example, when a video conference is performed between the bases A and B shown in FIG. 1 by the video conference terminal 110a and the video conference terminal 110b, the recording device 150 is transmitted from the video conference terminal 110a. The communication information and the communication information transmitted from the video conference terminal 110b are recorded.

  Since the recording device 150 records the communication information as information relating to the video conference, the recording device 150 reproduces information equivalent to the video conference reproduced at each of the bases A and B using the received communication information. Record. That is, the recording device 150 receives the video information and audio information of the users A1 and A2 of the video conference terminal 110a as communication information from the video conference terminal 110a via the communication I / F 307. The recording apparatus 150 receives the video information and audio information of the user b of the video conference terminal 110b as communication information from the video conference terminal 110b via the communication I / F 307. Further, as necessary, shared material information, text information input separately, and the like are received as communication information from the video conference terminal 110 via the communication I / F 307. In either case, the object is achieved based only on the received information, and it is not necessary to transmit video information or the like from the recording device 150, so that the network bandwidth to be used can be saved.

  The CPU 308 records the communication information received via the communication I / F 307 on the recording medium 308 as information on the video conference that is played back on any of the video conference terminals 110. Here, the communication information recorded by the recording apparatus 150 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of communication information of a video conference recorded by the recording device according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the recorded communication information 400 includes video information 401 indicating shared materials, video information 402 indicating users A1, A2, and B, and video information 403 indicating text and the like. .

  The video information 401 indicating the shared material is transmitted from any of the video conference terminals 110 that are conducting the video conference. Video information 402 indicating users A1, A2, and B is transmitted from the video conference terminal 110 used by each user A1, A2, and B, respectively. Video information indicating text or the like is information based on text information transmitted from the video conference terminal 110 in which text is input.

  The CPU 301 records the video information 401, 402, and 403 together as communication information 400. In other words, the CPU 301 is configured to record information equivalent to information reproduced by the video conference terminal that is conducting the video conference. In the description of FIG. 4, the video information is described as being recorded as communication information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, a configuration in which voice information, a movement locus such as a pointer, and the like are recorded as communication information may be used.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the communication I / F 307 is selected as the recording destination of the communication information from the video conference terminal 110 that has received the recording instruction, and receives the notification of the recording instruction information. When the CPU 301 receives the notification of the recording instruction information via the communication I / F 307, the CPU 301 establishes a P2P communication connection with the video conference terminal 110 based on the recording instruction information.

  When the CPU 301 records the communication information on the recording medium 308, the recording destination information such as the URL of the recording destination is used via the communication I / F 307 to the video conference terminal 110 that is the transmission source of the communication information or the video conference terminal 110. Notification is made to the contact information of the persons A1, A2 and B.

  If each component is described in association with each function, the function of the selection unit of the present invention is realized by the CPU 201 shown in FIG. Further, the CPU 201, communication I / F 207, CPU 301, and communication I / F 307 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 realize the functions of the connection means, transmission means, notification means, and notification means of the present invention.

(Overview of overall processing)
The overall processing outline of the video conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall processing outline of the video conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, a case where the video conference terminal 110a and the video conference terminal 110b are performing a video conference and a communication information recording instruction is input to the video conference terminal 110a will be described.

  In FIG. 5, the video conference terminal 110a and the video conference terminal 110b are in a state in which a P2P connection is established and a video conference is performed at a timing T1. When the video conference terminal 110a receives an input of a communication information recording instruction from the user A1 (or A2) via the operation unit 206 at timing T2, the video conference terminal 110a records the communication information to be recorded on the video conference system 100. The device 150 is selected.

  The video conference terminal 110a transmits INVITE, which is a call process, to the selected recording device 150 at timing T3. INVITE is performed based on, for example, a well-known SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), and is transmitted to the recording apparatus 150 via a server (not shown).

  When receiving the INVITE from the video conference terminal 110a, the recording device 150 transmits 200OK to the video conference terminal 110a as a success response at timing T4. Although not specifically described, the recording apparatus 150 may transmit 180 Ringing as a provisional response before transmitting 200 OK.

  When receiving 200 OK from the recording device 150, the video conference terminal 110a establishes a P2P connection with the recording device 150 and transmits communication information to the recording device 150 at timing T5. Note that the communication information transmitted at the timing T5 is also transmitted to the video conference terminal 110b that is conducting the video conference by the P2P connection established at the timing T1.

  The video conference terminal 110a notifies the recording instruction information including the destination information of the recording device 150 to the video conference terminal 110b having the video conference at timing T6. In the sequence diagram of FIG. 5, the recording instruction is notified to the video conference terminal 110b at the timing T6 after the P2P connection between the video conference terminal 110a and the recording device 150 is established at the timing T5. The order of processing is not limited.

  When the video conference terminal 110b receives the recording instruction notification from the video conference terminal 110a, the video conference terminal 110b permits the recording of the communication information to the recording device 150, so that the recording permission including the destination information of the own device is given to the recording device 150 at timing T7. Send.

  When receiving the recording permission from the video conference terminal 110b, the recording device 150 transmits INVITE to the video conference terminal 110b at the timing T8 based on the received recording permission. When receiving the INVITE from the recording apparatus 150, the video conference terminal 110b transmits 200 OK to the recording apparatus 150 at timing T9.

  When transmitting 200 OK to the recording apparatus 150, the video conference terminal 110b establishes a P2P connection with the recording apparatus 150 and transmits communication information to the recording apparatus 150 at timing T10. In the sequence diagram of FIG. 5, the P2P connection between the recording device 150 and the video conference terminal 110b has been described as transmitting INVITE from the recording device 150, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  Specifically, when receiving the recording instruction notification, the video conference terminal 110b transmits recording permission to the video conference terminal 110a and transmits INVITE to the recording device 150 at timing T7.

  When receiving the communication information from the video conference terminals 110a and 110b, the recording device 150 records the received communication information at timing T11. The recording of the communication information starts when only the communication information from the video conference terminal 110a is received at the timing T5, and when the communication information is received from the video conference terminal 110b at the timing T11, for example, as shown in FIG. Record as video conference information. The communication information may be recorded after waiting for the communication information of both the video conference terminals 110a and 110b participating in the video conference to be gathered (after timing T11).

  In the video conference system 100, the video conference is terminated at timing T12. The video conference is terminated by operating the operation unit 206 of the video conference terminal 110 used by the users A1, A2, and B, and the other video conference terminals 110 and the recording device 150 having the video conference are terminated. An instruction is sent.

  When the video conference is ended, the recording device 150 notifies the video conference terminal 110 that has performed the video conference at timings T13 and T14 of recording destination information such as a URL indicating the recording destination of the recorded communication information. . Although not specifically illustrated, the users A1, A2, and B of the video conference terminal 110 can acquire communication information related to the video conference based on the URL notified at the timings T13 and T14.

  In the sequence diagram of FIG. 5, the recording destination information is notified when the video conference ends at the timings T13 and T14. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, the recording destination information may be notified at the timing T11 when recording of communication information is started. In this way, users A1, A2, and B of the video conference terminal 110 can acquire and confirm communication information during the video conference. Further, instead of notifying the recording destination information, the recorded communication information itself may be transmitted. In this way, communication information can be reliably delivered to the video conference terminal 110. Further, although the timings T13 and T14 are illustrated as different timings, they may be performed at the same timing.

(Contents of processing of the video conference 110a)
The contents of the processing of the video conference system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 to 8, a case will be described in which the video conference terminal 110a selects a recording device for recording communication information and the video conference terminal 110b receives recording instruction information. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing of the video conference terminal that selects the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 6, first, the CPU 201 determines whether or not a video conference has started (step S601). To start a video conference, for example, based on the operation of the operation unit 206 by the user A1 (or A2), a connection request is made to the other video conference terminal 110 via the communication I / F 207. This is determined by receiving a response from another video conference terminal 110 via the communication I / F 207. In addition, it is determined when there is a connection request from another video conference terminal 110.

  If the video conference is started after waiting for the video conference to start (step S601: Yes), the CPU 201 determines whether there is an instruction to record communication information related to the video conference with the video conference terminal 110b (step S602). ). If there is no recording instruction in step S602 (step S602: No), the process waits until there is a recording instruction. Specifically, the processes in steps S601 and S602 correspond to the timings T1 and T2 shown in FIG.

  When there is a recording instruction (step S602: Yes), the CPU 201 acquires the network connection environment of the video conference terminal 110 and the recording device 150 in the video conference system 100 (step S603). The acquisition of the connection environment is acquired by, for example, inquiring of a management server that performs call control of P2P connection between the video conference terminals 110 or by inquiring of another video conference terminal 110 that is conducting a video conference. A configuration based on 150 address information may be used.

  Based on the network connection environment acquired in step S603, the CPU 201 selects the recording device 150 that is a recording destination of communication information transmitted and received in the video conference with the video conference terminal 110b (step S604). The selection of the recording device 150 is performed, for example, by comparing the address of the video conference terminal 110 and the address of the recording device 150 to determine the network to which each device is connected.

  The CPU 201 controls the communication I / F 207 to establish a P2P connection with the recording device 150 selected in step S604 (step S605), and transmits communication information to the recording device 150 (step S606). Specifically, the processing in steps S603 to S606 corresponds to the timings T3 to T5 shown in FIG.

  The CPU 201 notifies the recording instruction information to the video conference terminal 110b via the communication I / F 207 for the recording device 150 selected in step S604 (step S607). Specifically, the process in step S60 corresponds to the timing T6 shown in FIG.

  The CPU 201 determines whether or not the video conference started in step S601 has ended (step S608). If the video conference does not end in step S608 (step S608: No), transmission of communication information is continued until the video conference is ended.

  When the video conference is to be ended (step S608: Yes), the series of processes is ended as it is. Specifically, the processing in step S608 corresponds to the timing T12 shown in FIG. Although not particularly shown, the notification of the recording destination at timings T13 and T14 shown in FIG. 5 is configured to be received after or during the processing in the flowchart of FIG.

(Contents of processing of recording device 150)
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the flowchart of FIG. 7, first, the CPU 301 determines whether or not there is a connection request (INVITE) from the video conference terminal 110a via the communication I / F 307 (step S701).

  When receiving and receiving the connection request (step S701: Yes), the CPU 301 performs P2P connection with the video conference terminal 110a via the communication I / F 307, and communication information is received from the video conference terminal 110a. Is received (step S702). Specifically, the processing in step S702 corresponds to the timings T4 and T5 shown in FIG.

  The CPU 301 determines whether or not a recording permission has been received from the other video conference terminal 110b that has a video conference with the video conference terminal 110a via the communication I / F 307 (step S703). In step S703, when the recording permission is not received (step S703: No), the process proceeds to step S705.

  When the recording permission is received (step S703: Yes), the CPU 301 performs P2P connection with the video conference terminal 110b via the communication I / F 307 and receives communication information from the video conference terminal 110b (step S704). . Specifically, the processes in steps S703 and S704 correspond to the timings T7 to T10 shown in FIG.

  The CPU 301 records the communication information received in step S702 and / or step S704 on the recording medium 308 (step S705). For example, the communication information is recorded as information for reproducing the conference shown in FIG. Specifically, the processing in step S705 corresponds to the timing T11 shown in FIG.

  CPU301 judges whether the video conference currently performed between the video conference terminal 110a and the video conference terminal 110b was complete | finished (step S706). In step S706, when the video conference does not end (step S706: No), the recording of the communication information is continued until the video conference ends.

  When ending the video conference (step S706: Yes), the CPU 301 acquires contact information of the video conference terminal 110a and the video conference terminal 110b (step S707). The contact information is, for example, the address information of the video conference terminal 110 or the contact information of the users A1, A2, and B. The contact information is acquired at the time of P2P connection in step S702 or step S704, or the video conference terminal 110 is inquired. You can also get it. Specifically, the processing in step S706 corresponds to the timing T12 shown in FIG.

  When the contact information is acquired, the CPU 301 notifies the video conference terminal 110 of the recording destination information indicating the recording destination where the communication information is recorded in step S707 to the video conference terminal 110 via the communication I / F 307 (step S708). The process ends. Specifically, the processing in step S708 corresponds to the timings T13 and T14 shown in FIG. Although not particularly illustrated, the recording device 150 is configured to transmit communication information to the video conference terminal 110 when the video conference terminal 110 requests acquisition of communication information recorded on the recording medium 308. is there.

(Contents of processing of the video conference 110b)
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing of the video conference terminal that receives the recording instruction information according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the flowchart of FIG. 8, first, the CPU 201 determines whether or not a video conference has been started (step S801). To start a video conference, for example, based on the operation of the operation unit 206 by the user A1 (or A2), a connection request is made to the other video conference terminal 110 via the communication I / F 207. This is determined by receiving a response from another video conference terminal 110 via the communication I / F 207. In addition, it is determined when there is a connection request from another video conference terminal 110.

  If the video conference is started after waiting for the video conference to start (step S801: Yes), the CPU 201 receives a communication instruction recording notification of the video conference from the video conference terminal 110a via the communication I / F 207. It is determined whether or not (step S802). If there is no notification of recording instruction information in step S802 (step S802: No), the process waits until there is a notification. Specifically, the processes in steps S801 and S802 correspond to the timings T1 and T6 shown in FIG.

  If there is a recording instruction notification (step S802: Yes), the CPU 201 determines whether or not recording to the recording apparatus 150 that has received the recording instruction notification is permitted (step S803). For recording permission, for example, a message to confirm the recording permission is displayed to the user B on the display 211 or the like, and based on an operation input by the user B or participating in a video conference. This is a configuration that automatically grants permission.

  When recording is not permitted (step S803: No), the communication information from the video conference terminal 110b is not transmitted, and the process ends. In step S803, when recording is permitted (step S803: Yes), the CPU 201 transmits a permission notification to the recording apparatus via the communication I / F 207 (step S804). Specifically, the process in step S804 corresponds to the timing T7 shown in FIG.

  The CPU 201 controls the communication I / F 207 to establish a P2P connection with the recording apparatus 150 that transmitted the permission notification in step S804 (step S805), and transmits communication information to the recording apparatus 150 (step S806). Specifically, the processes in steps S805 and S806 correspond to the timings T8 to T10 shown in FIG.

  The CPU 201 determines whether or not the video conference started in step S801 has ended (step S807). If the video conference does not end in step S807 (step S807: No), transmission of communication information is continued until the video conference is ended.

  When the video conference is to be ended (step S807: Yes), the series of processes is ended as it is. Specifically, the processing in step S807 corresponds to the timing T12 shown in FIG. Although not particularly illustrated, the notification of the recording destination at timings T13 and T14 shown in FIG. 5 is configured to be received after or during the processing in the flowchart of FIG.

  In addition, if the process in each component of the present invention is described in association with each process or each function of the embodiment of the present invention, the process of the selection process in the communication method of the present invention is performed by the process of the CPU 201 in steps S602 to S604. Processing is executed. By the processing of the CPUs 201 and 301 and the communication I / Fs 207 and 307 in step S605, step S704, and step S805, the connection process in the communication method of the present invention is executed. The processing of the transmission process of the present invention is executed by the processing of the CPU 201 and the communication I / F 207 in step S606 and step S806. The processing of the recording step in the communication method of the present invention is executed by the processing of the CPU 301 and the recording medium 308 in step S705.

  As described above, according to the video conference system, the video conference terminal, and the communication method of the embodiment of the present invention, the communication information is recorded based on the network connection environment of the video conference terminal that is conducting the video conference. A recording device can be selected. Therefore, the communication information regarding the video conference can be recorded reliably and appropriately.

  Moreover, according to the video conference system, the video conference terminal, and the communication method of the present invention, it is possible to notify the video conference terminal or the user of the recording destination information indicating the recording destination where the communication information is recorded. Therefore, the user can easily access the recorded communication information, and by confirming the contents, the user can surely grasp the video conference information.

(Other variations)
In the embodiment of the present invention, the communication information is transmitted to the recording device 150 and the recording device 150 records all the communication information transmitted from the video conference terminal 110. However, the present invention is not limited to this. There is no. Specifically, the recording device 150 may be configured to record a part or more of communication information regarding a video conference.

  For example, the part or more may be configured to extract an important part for the video conference. The important part is, for example, communication information of users who have important roles among video conference users in advance, communication information of a part where a loud voice is spoken about the user's utterance state, communication regarding explanation of shared materials, etc. Information may be used. Further, the part or more may be, for example, all of the audio information and only the video information of a predetermined base. When it is a part or more, a configuration based on the performance of the recording apparatus 150, the recording area, the user's preset settings, or the like may be used. By doing in this way, an important part can be efficiently recorded with respect to a video conference.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the network connection environment is particularly described as being based on the network to which the recording device 150 is connected and the network to which the video conference terminal 110 participating in the video conference is connected. This is not a limitation. Specifically, for example, the network connection environment may be performed based on the security level of the network to which the recording device 150 is connected.

  That is, in FIG. 1, when a video conference is performed between the video conference terminals 110 between the sites A and B and there is no recording device connected to the external network ONW, the NAT device 101a and the firewall 102a at the site A, The selection is made based on the security level of the NAT device 101b and the firewall 102b at the site B. More specifically, for example, when simply recording communication information, the recording device 150 at a base with a low security level is selected, and when recording communication information with high confidentiality is to be recorded, a base with a high security level is selected. The recording device 150 may be selected.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the recording apparatus 150 is selected based on the network connection environment in the flowchart of FIG. 6, but the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, for example, the selection of the recording device 150 may be performed based on the performance information of the recording device 150.

  Here, the case where the performance information is used for selection of the recording apparatus 150 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing of the video conference terminal for selecting the recording apparatus of the modification of the present invention. In the flowchart of FIG. 9, the same parts as those shown in FIG.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 9, when the processing of step S601 and step S602 shown in FIG. 6 is performed, the CPU 201 acquires performance information of the recording device 150 in the video conference system 100 (step S901). The performance information includes the processing performance of the CPU 301 of the recording device 150, the communication performance of the communication I / F 307, the recordable area of the recording medium 308, and the like.

  That is, in step S <b> 901, the CPU 201 acquires performance information by making an acquisition request to each recording apparatus 150 or an acquisition request to a management server (not shown) in which performance information is recorded in advance via the communication I / F 207.

  In step S604, the CPU 201 selects the recording device 150 as a communication information recording destination based on the performance information acquired in step S901, instead of the network connection environment shown in FIG. Specifically, for example, the CPU 201 selects, for example, the recording device 150 having a high processing performance of the CPU 301 or a communication performance of the communication I / F 307 and a large recordable area of the recording medium 308 according to the acquired performance information. . And the video conference terminal 110 performs the process of step S605-step S608. Thus, for example, if the performance information of the recording device 150 is used as a predetermined condition for selecting the recording device, the communication information can be recorded quickly and with high accuracy without causing any trouble in the video conference. .

  6 and 9 have been described on the assumption that the network connection environment and the performance information of the recording device 150 are used separately, the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, for example, both the network connection environment and the performance information of the recording device 150 may be weighted and used.

  Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the communication information is recorded by the selected recording device 150 in particular. However, when the recording area decreases with reference to the recording area of the recording medium 308 of the recording device 150. Another recording device 150 may be reselected. In this way, it is possible to prevent a situation where communication information cannot be recorded due to a lack of a recording area. That is, communication information can be recorded reliably.

  In the above description, the embodiment and some of the modifications have been described as separate examples, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, as a combination of the above, the methods according to the embodiment and some modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

  Note that the methods described in the embodiments and modifications of the present invention can be realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. The communication program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a hard disk, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, and a DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer. The program may be a transmission medium that can be distributed via a network such as the Internet.

100 Video conference system 110 (110a, 110b) Video conference terminal 200, 300 Bus 201, 301 CPU
202,302 RAM
203,303 ROM
204 Video I / F
205 Voice I / F
206,306 Operation unit 207,307 Communication I / F
208, 308 Recording medium 211 Display 212 Camera 213 Speaker 214 Microphone

Claims (8)

A communication system that includes a plurality of terminal devices that are connected to a network and perform mutual communication of communication information including video information or audio information by P2P communication, and one or more recording devices that can record the communication information. And
A recording device that records the communication information based on a predetermined condition when there is a recording instruction from any of the plurality of terminal devices for the communication information that is communicated between the plurality of terminal devices by the P2P communication. A selection means to select;
Connection means for establishing a connection of the P2P communication between the plurality of terminal devices and the recording device based on a result selected by the selection means;
Based on establishment of connection by the connection means, the plurality of terminal devices transmit the communication information to the recording device;
The recording device for recording the communication information transmitted by the transmission unit in association with the mutual communication between the plurality of terminal devices;
Equipped with a,
The communication unit is characterized in that the selection means acquires performance information related to the performance of one or more recording devices, and selects the recording device that records the communication information based on the performance information. A communication system that includes a plurality of terminal devices that are connected to a network and perform mutual communication of communication information including video information or audio information by P2P communication, and one or more recording devices that can record the communication information. And
A recording device that records the communication information based on a predetermined condition when there is a recording instruction from any of the plurality of terminal devices for the communication information that is communicated between the plurality of terminal devices by the P2P communication. A selection means to select;
Connection means for establishing a connection of the P2P communication between the plurality of terminal devices and the recording device based on a result selected by the selection means;
Based on establishment of connection by the connection means, the plurality of terminal devices transmit the communication information to the recording device;
The recording device for recording the communication information transmitted by the transmission unit in association with the mutual communication between the plurality of terminal devices;
With
The communication unit is characterized in that the selection means acquires recording area information relating to a recording area in which the communication information is recorded by the recording apparatus, and reselects the recording apparatus based on the recording area information. A communication system that includes a plurality of terminal devices that are connected to a network and perform mutual communication of communication information including video information or audio information by P2P communication, and one or more recording devices that can record the communication information. And
A recording device that records the communication information based on a predetermined condition when there is a recording instruction from any of the plurality of terminal devices for the communication information that is communicated between the plurality of terminal devices by the P2P communication. A selection means to select;
Connection means for establishing a connection of the P2P communication between the plurality of terminal devices and the recording device based on a result selected by the selection means;
Based on establishment of connection by the connection means, the plurality of terminal devices transmit the communication information to the recording device;
The recording device for recording the communication information transmitted by the transmission unit in association with the mutual communication between the plurality of terminal devices;
With
A communication system, further comprising notification means for notifying the recording destination information of the communication information recorded in the recording device to the contact information regarding the users of the plurality of terminal devices or the plurality of terminal devices. The recording for establishing the connection of the P2P communication by the connection means to the terminal device in which the communication information is mutually communicated by the P2P communication based on the result selected by the selection means The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising notification means for notifying recording instruction information relating to an instruction. Said selecting means, a communication system according to any one of claims 1-4 based on the connection environment to said network of said plurality of terminal devices or the recording apparatus, and selects the recording device. The recording apparatus, based on the status of the intercommunication between said plurality of terminal devices, of the communication information transmitted by said transmitting means, more of claims 1-5, characterized in that to record or portion The communication system as described in any one. The communication information connected to the network and communicated between the plurality of terminal devices by the P2P communication to the computers of the plurality of terminal devices that perform mutual communication of communication information including video information or audio information by P2P communication. When there is a recording instruction from any of the plurality of terminal devices, a selection step of selecting a recording device that records the communication information based on a predetermined condition;
A connection step for establishing a connection of the P2P communication between the plurality of terminal devices and the recording device based on a result selected by the selection step;
A transmission step in which the plurality of terminal devices transmit the communication information to the recording device based on establishment of a connection in the connection step;
And execute
The communication program characterized in that the selection step acquires performance information related to the performance of one or more recording devices, and selects the recording device that records the communication information based on the performance information . The communication information connected to the network and communicated between the plurality of terminal devices by the P2P communication to the computers of the plurality of terminal devices that perform mutual communication of communication information including video information or audio information by P2P communication. When there is a recording instruction from any of the plurality of terminal devices, a selection step of selecting a recording device that records the communication information based on a predetermined condition;
A connection step for establishing a connection of the P2P communication between the plurality of terminal devices and the recording device based on a result selected by the selection step;
A transmission step in which the plurality of terminal devices transmit the communication information to the recording device based on establishment of a connection in the connection step;
And execute
In the communication program, the selecting step acquires recording area information regarding a recording area in which the communication information is recorded by the recording apparatus, and reselects the recording apparatus based on the recording area information.