JP5655499B2 - Transmission management system, transmission system, transmission management program, program providing system, and maintenance system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an invention for selecting a relay device that actually relays content data among a plurality of relay devices capable of relaying content data transmitted between a plurality of transmission terminals.

  An example of a transmission system that transmits and receives content data between a plurality of transmission terminals via a relay device is a video conference system that performs a video conference or the like via a communication network such as the Internet. The necessity of such a video conference system has been improved with the recent reduction in business trip expenses and business trip time. In such a video conference system, a plurality of video conference terminals, which are examples of transmission terminals, are used. A video conference can be realized by transmitting and receiving image data and audio data between these video conference terminals.

  In addition, recent enhancement of broadband environment has made it possible to send and receive high-quality image data and high-quality sound data. As a result, it became easier to grasp the situation of the other party of the video conference, and the fulfillment level of communication through conversation can be improved.

  However, when a large number of video conferences are held via a communication network, or when image data and audio data are received using a narrowband path on the communication network, the image data and audio data are received. There arises a problem that a delay occurs. It is said that a user of a video conference system feels stress during a conversation when a delay of 0.5 seconds or more occurs in receiving image data or audio data. For this reason, even in the recent enhancement of the broadband environment, there has been a situation in which users cannot perform a satisfactory video conference.

  In recent video conference systems, a relay device that relays image data and audio data between video conference terminals is installed for each LAN (Local Area Network) in a communication network. With these relay apparatuses, it is possible to distribute the video conference communication processing to reduce the load on each relay apparatus and to distribute the amount of data transmission such as image data and audio data to be relayed.

  Conventionally, in selecting and using one relay device among a plurality of relay devices, a relay device connected to the same LAN as the video conference terminal that performs the video conference has been used. That is, by selecting a relay device having an IP address close to the IP address of the video conference terminal, high-quality image data or the like can be transmitted / received via the selected relay device (see Patent Document 1).

  However, in a conventional video conference system, if a relay device having an IP address close to the IP address of the video conference terminal is used, it is relayed on the assumption that high-quality image data and high-quality audio data can be transmitted and received. Since the device is selected, it is not necessarily suitable for the actual communication network environment. In other words, even if the IP address of the video conference terminal or the IP address of the relay device is obtained in advance, it is difficult to grasp the connection status of communication networks spread all over the world. It does not always follow the assumption due to the presence of cut parts. Therefore, there arises a problem that image data or audio data with as high quality as possible cannot be transmitted / received in an actual communication network environment.

  The invention according to claim 1 provides support for finally narrowing down to one relay device for relaying at least one of image data and audio data communicated between a plurality of transmission terminals via a communication network. A transmission management system, wherein for each relay device identification information for identifying the relay device, a relay indicating an IP address for identifying the relay device on the communication network or an FQDN corresponding to the IP address An IP address for specifying the transmission terminal on the communication network is indicated or corresponding to the relay apparatus management means for managing the apparatus identification information and terminal identification information for identifying the transmission terminal. The terminal management means for managing the terminal identification information indicating the FQDN and the transmission terminal as the predetermined request source transmit the transmission as the request source. Terminal identification information for identifying a terminal, identification information receiving means for receiving terminal identification information for identifying a transmission terminal as a destination, terminal identification information for identifying a transmission terminal as a request source, and a destination Extracting the terminal management information based on at least one of the terminal identification information for identifying the transmission terminal as the terminal, and extracting the terminal identification information of the corresponding transmission terminal; and the extracted terminal identification By searching the relay device management means based on the IP address indicated by the information or the IP address corresponding to the FQDN indicated by the extracted terminal specifying information, the IP address indicated by the extracted terminal specifying information or Two or more upper IP addresses that are close to the IP address corresponding to the FQDN indicated by the extracted terminal identification information Or primary selection means for selecting the relay device identification information of the relay device to which the relay device identification information indicating the FQDN corresponding to the upper two or more IP addresses is respectively assigned. A transmission management system that performs a primary narrowing process before narrowing down to one relay device.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the transmission management system according to claim 1, wherein the priority for managing the address priority indicating that the closer the IP address is, the higher the ratio selected by the primary selection means becomes. Relay device identification of the relay device for the IP address indicated by the terminal identification information of the transmission terminal extracted by the degree management means and the extraction means or the IP address corresponding to the FQDN indicated by the extracted terminal identification information A priority determination unit that determines the address priority of the IP address corresponding to the IP address indicated by the information or the FQDN indicated by the relay device specifying information, and the primary selection unit has the determined priority The transmission management system according to claim 1, wherein relay device identification information of two or more higher relay devices is selected.

  In the invention according to claim 3, the relay device management means manages the maximum data transmission rate in the relay device for each relay device identification information, and the priority management means selects the selection as the maximum data transmission rate is higher. The transmission rate priority indicating that the ratio selected by the means becomes high, and the priority determination means is the transmission rate priority of the maximum data transmission rate in the relay device managed by the relay device management means. And the primary selection means selects relay device identification information of two or more higher-order relay devices having a high priority combining the determined address priority and the transmission speed priority. A transmission management system according to claim 2.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the relay device managing means manages an operating state of the relay device for each relay device identification information of the relay device, and the primary selecting means is a relay whose operating state is online. 4. The transmission management system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission management system is selected from relay device identification information of the device.

  In the invention according to claim 5, the operation status of the relay device managed by the relay device management means is the status information indicating the operation status periodically or when the operation status of each relay device is changed. 5. The transmission management system according to claim 4, wherein the transmission management system is updated on the basis of being sent from each relay apparatus via the communication network.

  The invention according to claim 6 has a transmission means for transmitting two or more relay device identification information selected by the primary selection means to the transmission terminal as the request source or the transmission terminal as the destination. The transmission management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the transmission management system according to the sixth aspect, the transmission terminal as the request source, and the transmission terminal as the destination transmit the two or more relay device identification information by the transmission means. A transmission system having one transmission terminal that has not been transmitted and the other transmission terminal from which the two or more relay device identification information has been transmitted, wherein the one transmission terminal includes the image data And relay information indicated by two or more relay device identification information transmitted from the other transmission terminal before transmitting at least one of the voice data from the other transmission terminal A transmission information receiving means for receiving each of the pre-transmission information that is transmitted through each of the devices and indicated by a transmission time when transmitted from the other transmission terminal; For each received prior transmission information, a measuring means for measuring a reception time when received by the transmission information receiving means, and for each prior transmission information for which the reception time is measured, the measured reception time and the previous time Calculation means for calculating a required time from transmission to reception of the pre-transmission information based on a difference from a transmission time included in the post-article transmission information;
Final selection means for selecting a relay device that relays the pre-transmission information that required the shortest required time among the calculated required times, and finally narrowing down to one relay device. It is a transmission system .

  In the invention according to claim 8, the transmission information receiving means receives relay device number information indicating the number of relay devices that are transmitted from the other transmission terminal and the preliminary transmission information is scheduled to be relayed, and The calculation means calculates a time required from transmission to reception for a number of pieces of pre-transmission information corresponding to the number of relay apparatuses indicated by the received relay apparatus number information. The transmission system described.

  In the invention according to claim 9, the transmission information receiving means receives relay device number information including the number of relay devices transmitted from the other transmission terminal and scheduled to relay the pre-transmission information, and the calculation is performed. The means calculates a required time from transmission to reception only for the pre-transmission information received within a predetermined time after the transmission device number information is received by the transmission information reception means. 7. The transmission system according to 7.

An invention according to a tenth aspect is a transmission management program that causes a computer to realize the means according to any one of the first to sixth aspects.

An invention according to an eleventh aspect is a program providing system characterized in that the transmission management program according to the tenth aspect is provided to the computer via a communication network.

  A twelfth aspect of the present invention is a maintenance system that performs maintenance of the transmission management system according to any one of the first to sixth aspects.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a relay device that is finally used by selecting a relay device to which two or more upper IP addresses close to any of the IP addresses of the transmission terminals are respectively assigned. Two or more candidates can be left. As a result, after that, by actually transmitting / receiving the predetermined information between the transmission terminals via each relay device as the candidate, and by narrowing down to the relay device that relayed the predetermined information with the shortest time required for transmission / reception, It is possible to realize transmission / reception of high-quality image data or audio data to the maximum in a communication network environment.

1 is a schematic diagram of a transmission system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is the conceptual diagram which showed the transmission / reception state of the image data in the transmission system, audio | voice data, and various management information. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the image quality of image data. It is an external view of the terminal which concerns on this embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the terminal which concerns on this embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the management system, relay apparatus, or program provision system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of each terminal, apparatus, and system which comprise the transmission system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of a final narrowing down part. It is a functional block diagram of a primary narrowing-down part. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a change quality management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a relay apparatus management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a terminal authentication management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a terminal management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a destination list management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a session management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an address priority management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a transmission rate priority management table. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a quality management table. It is the sequence figure which showed the process which manages the status information which shows the operating state of each relay apparatus. It is the sequence diagram which showed the process of the preparation stage which starts remote communication between terminals. It is the sequence diagram which showed the process which narrows down a relay apparatus. FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram illustrating a process of narrowing down relay devices. It is the figure which showed the calculation state of the point of priority at the time of performing the narrowing-down process of a relay apparatus. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing for a transmission terminal to select a relay device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is the processing flowchart which showed the process which selects a relay apparatus in a transmission terminal. It is the sequence diagram which showed the process which transmits / receives image data and audio | voice data between transmission terminals. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing for a transmission terminal to select a relay device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

<< Overall Configuration of Embodiment >>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a transmission system 1 according to this embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a state of transmission / reception of image data, audio data, and various management information in the transmission system. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the image quality of image data.

  In addition, the transmission system includes a data providing system that transmits content data in one direction from one transmission terminal to the other transmission terminal via the transmission management system, and information between a plurality of transmission terminals via the transmission management system. Includes a communication system that communicates emotions and the like. This communication system is a system for mutually transmitting information, emotions, etc. between a plurality of communication terminals (corresponding to “transmission terminal”) via a communication management system (corresponding to “transmission management system”). An example is a conference system or a videophone system.

  In the present embodiment, assuming a video conference system as an example of a communication system, a video conference management system as an example of a communication management system, and a video conference terminal as an example of a communication terminal, a transmission system, a transmission management system, The transmission terminal will be described. That is, the transmission terminal and the transmission management system of the present invention are not only applied to a video conference system, but also applied to a communication system or a transmission system.

  First, the transmission system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of transmission terminals (10aa, 10ab,...), A display (120aa, 120ab,...) For each transmission terminal (10aa, 10ab,. The apparatus (30a, 30b, 30c, 30d), the transmission management system 50, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 are constructed.

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

  In the following, “transmission terminal” is simply represented as “terminal”, and “transmission management system” is simply represented as “management system”. Further, an arbitrary terminal among the plurality of terminals (10aa, 10ab,...) Is represented as “terminal 10”, and an arbitrary display among the plurality of displays (120aa, 120ab,...) Is represented as “display 120”. An arbitrary relay device among the plurality of relay devices (30a, 30b, 30c, 30d) is represented as “relay device 30”. Further, a terminal as a request source that requests the start of a video conference is represented as a “request source terminal”, and a terminal as a request destination (relay destination) is represented as a “destination terminal”.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the transmission system 1, a management information session sei for transmitting and receiving various types of management information is transmitted between the request source terminal and the destination terminal via the management system 50. Established. Further, between the request source terminal and the destination terminal, four pieces of data of high resolution image data, medium resolution image data, low resolution image data, and audio data are transmitted and received via the relay device 30. Four sessions are established. Here, these four sessions are collectively shown as an image / audio data session sed.

  Here, the resolution of the image data handled in the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the horizontal image is composed of 160 pixels and the vertical image is 120 pixels, and a low-resolution image serving as a base image and a horizontal image as illustrated in FIG. 3 (b). There are a medium resolution image consisting of 320 pixels and 240 pixels vertically, and a high resolution image consisting of 640 pixels horizontally and 480 pixels vertically as shown in FIG. Among these, when passing through a narrow band route, low-quality image data consisting only of low-resolution image data serving as a base image is relayed. When the band is relatively wide, low-resolution image data serving as a base image and medium-quality image data composed of medium-resolution image data are relayed. When the bandwidth is very wide, high-resolution image data composed of low-resolution image data serving as base image quality, intermediate-resolution image data, and high-resolution image data is relayed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

<< Hardware Configuration of Embodiment >>
Next, the hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, when a delay occurs in the reception of image data at the terminal 10 as the destination (relay destination), the image resolution of the image data is changed by the relay device 30 before the terminal 10 as the relay destination. A case where image data is transmitted will be described.

  FIG. 4 is an external view of a terminal according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal 10 includes a housing 1021, an arm 1074, and a camera housing 1075. Among these, a plurality of intake holes 1021e are formed on substantially the entire front wall 1021a of the housing 1021, and a plurality of exhaust holes (not shown) are formed on substantially the entire rear wall 1021b of the housing 1021. ing. Thus, by driving a cooling fan built in the housing 1021, the outside air in front of the terminal 10 can be taken in through the intake hole 1021e and exhausted to the rear of the terminal 10 through the exhaust hole. A sound collecting hole 1021f is formed at the center of the front side wall 1021a, and sounds such as voice, sound, and noise can be collected by a built-in microphone 114 described later.

  An operation panel 1022 is formed on the left side of the housing 1021 when viewed from the front. The operation panel 1022 is provided with a later-described operation button 108 and a later-described power switch 109, and a plurality of sound output holes 1022 f for allowing an output sound from a later-described built-in speaker 115 to pass therethrough. ing. Further, an accommodation portion 1021p as a recess for accommodating the arm 1074 and the camera housing 1075 is formed on the right side of the housing 1021 when viewed from the front.

  The arm 1074 is attached to the housing 1021 via the torque hinge 1073, and the arm 1074 has a pan angle θ1 of ± 180 degrees with respect to the housing 1021 within a range of ± 180 degrees and 90 degrees. It is configured to be rotatable in the vertical and horizontal directions within the range of the tilt angle θ2 (a click feeling is generated when the tilt is approximately 45 degrees).

  The camera housing 1075 is provided with a built-in camera 112 to be described later, and can capture images of a user, a room, and the like. The camera housing 1075 is formed with a torque hinge 1075a. The camera housing 1075 is attached to the arm 1074 via a torque hinge 1075a. The state in which the camera housing 1075 is linear with respect to the arm 1074 is defined as 0 degree, and the tilt angle θ3 is approximately 100 degrees on the front side of the terminal 10 and approximately 90 degrees on the rear side of the terminal 10. It is configured to be rotatable.

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

  FIG. 5 is a hardware configuration diagram of the terminal 10 according to this embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal 10 of the present embodiment has programs used for driving the CPU 101 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 and IPL (Initial Program Loader) that control the operation of the entire terminal 10. ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, RAM (Random Access Memory) 103 used as a work area for the CPU 101, flash memory 104 for storing various data such as terminal programs, image data, and audio data, and control of the CPU 101 The SSD (Solid State Drive) 105 that controls the reading or writing of various data to the flash memory 104 according to the above, the media drive 107 that controls the reading or writing (storage) of data to the recording medium 106 such as the flash memory, and the destination of the terminal 10 The operation that is performed when selecting An operation button 108, a power switch 109 for switching on / off the power of the terminal 10, and a network I / F (Interface) 111 for data transmission using the communication network 2 are provided.

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

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

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

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

  The recording medium 106 is detachable from the terminal 10. Further, as long as it is a non-volatile memory that reads or writes data according to the control of the CPU 101, not only the flash memory 104 but also an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM) or the like may be used.

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

  FIG. 6 is a hardware configuration diagram of the management system according to this embodiment of the present invention. The management system 50 stores various data such as a CPU 201 that controls the operation of the entire management system 50, a ROM 202 that stores programs used to drive the CPU 201 such as an IPL, a RAM 203 that is used as a work area for the CPU 201, and a transmission management program. The HD 204 to be stored, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 205 that controls reading or writing of various data to the HD 204 according to the control of the CPU 201, and a media drive 207 that controls reading or writing (storage) of data to a recording medium 206 such as a flash memory. , A display 208 that displays various information such as a cursor, menu, window, character, or image, a network I / F 209 for transmitting data using the communication network 2, characters, numerical values, A keyboard 211 having a plurality of keys for inputting seed instructions, a mouse 212 for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, etc., and a CD-ROM as an example of a removable recording medium (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) 213, a CD-ROM drive 214 for controlling the reading or writing of various data, and an address bus for electrically connecting the above components as shown in FIG. A bus line 210 such as a data bus is provided.

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

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

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

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

<< Functional Configuration of Embodiment >>
Next, the functional configuration of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of each terminal, device, and system constituting the transmission system 1 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 7, the terminal 10, the relay device 30, and the management system 50 are connected so that data communication can be performed via the communication network 2. The program providing system 90 shown in FIG. 1 is omitted in FIG. 7 because it is not directly related to the video conference communication.

<Functional configuration of terminal>
The terminal 10 includes a transmission / reception unit 11, an operation input reception unit 12, a login request unit 13, an imaging unit 14, an audio input unit 15a, an audio output unit 15b, a final narrowing unit 16, a display control unit 17, a delay detection unit 18, and A storage / reading processing unit 19 is provided. Each of these units is a function realized by any one of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 5 being operated by a command from the CPU 101 according to the terminal program developed from the flash memory 104 onto the RAM 103, or It is a means to function. Further, the terminal 10 has a storage unit 1000 constructed by the RAM 103 shown in FIG. 5 and the flash memory 104 shown in FIG.

(Functional configuration of terminal)
Next, each functional configuration of the terminal 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 7. In the following, in describing each functional configuration of the terminal 10, among the components illustrated in FIG. 5, a relationship with main components for realizing each functional configuration of the terminal 10 will also be described. .

  The transmission / reception unit 11 of the terminal 10 shown in FIG. 7 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 5 and the network I / F 111 shown in FIG. Various data (or information) is transmitted / received to / from the terminal, device or system. The transmission / reception unit 11 starts receiving state information indicating the state of each terminal as a destination candidate from the management system 50 before starting a call with a desired destination terminal. This status information includes not only the operating status of each terminal 10 (online or offline status) but also whether it is possible to make a call even when online, whether it is in a call, whether it is away from the office, etc. Shows detailed status. In addition, the status information is not limited to the operating status of each terminal 10, but the cable 120 c is disconnected from the terminal 10 at the terminal 10, audio is output but no image is output, or audio is not output. Various states such as (MUTE) are shown. Below, the case where status information shows an operation state is demonstrated as an example.

  The operation input receiving unit 12 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 5 and the operation buttons 108 and the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 5 and receives various inputs by the user. For example, when the user turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 5, the operation input receiving unit 12 shown in FIG. 7 receives the power ON and turns on the power.

  The login request unit 13 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 5, and triggers a login request from the transmission / reception unit 11 to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 when the power-on is accepted. And the current IP address of the request source terminal are automatically transmitted. When the user turns the power switch 109 from the ON state to the OFF state, the operation input receiving unit 12 completely turns off the power after the transmission / reception unit 11 transmits the state information indicating that the power supply is turned off to the management system 50. To do. As a result, the management system 50 side can grasp that the terminal 10 has been turned off from being turned on.

  The imaging unit 14 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 illustrated in FIG. 5 and the camera 112 and the image sensor I / F 113 illustrated in FIG. 5. Output data.

  The voice input unit 15a is realized by the instruction from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 5 and the voice input / output I / F 116 shown in FIG. 5, and the user's voice is converted into a voice signal by the microphone 114. Thereafter, audio data relating to the audio signal is input. The audio output unit 15b is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 5 and the audio input / output I / F 116 shown in FIG. 5, and outputs an audio signal related to the audio data to the speaker. To output sound.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the final narrowing unit 16 performs a final narrowing process for finally narrowing down from a plurality of relay devices 30 to one relay device 30, according to a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. A measurement unit 16a, a calculation unit 16b, and a final selection unit 16c are realized.

  Among these, the measurement unit 16 a measures the reception date and time when the pre-transmission information is received by the transmission / reception unit 11 for each pre-transmission information described later received by the transmission / reception unit 11. For each pre-transmission information whose reception date and time is measured by the measurement unit 16a, the calculation unit 16b determines the pre-transmission information based on the difference between the measured reception time and the transmission date and time included in the pre-transmission information. The required time (T) from transmission to reception is calculated. The final selection unit 16c finally selects one relay device by selecting the relay device 30 to which the pre-transmission information that required the shortest required time is relayed among the required times calculated by the calculation unit 16b. .

  The display control unit 17 is realized by the instruction from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 5 and the display I / F 117 shown in FIG. 5. As will be described later, the received image data having different resolutions are combined. Control for transmitting the combined image data to the display 120 is performed. In addition, the display control unit 17 can transmit the destination list information received from the management system 50 to the display 120 and cause the display 120 to display the destination list.

  The delay detection unit 18 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 5 and detects a delay time (ms) of image data or audio data sent from another terminal 10 via the relay device 30. .

  The storage / reading processing unit 19 is executed by the instruction from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 5 and the instruction from the SSD 105 shown in FIG. 5 or realized by the instruction from the CPU 101, and stores various data in the storage unit 1000. Processing for reading various data stored in the unit 1000 is performed. The storage unit 1000 stores a terminal ID (Identification) for identifying the terminal 10, a password, and the like. Furthermore, the storage unit 1000 overwrites and stores image data and audio data received when a call is made with the destination terminal. Among these, the image is displayed on the display 120 by the image data before being overwritten, and the sound is output from the speaker 150 by the sound data before being overwritten.

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

<Functional configuration of relay device>
The relay device 30 includes a transmission / reception unit 31, a state detection unit 32, a data quality confirmation unit 33, a change quality management unit 34, a data quality change unit 35, and a storage / read processing unit 39. Each of these units functions or functions realized by any one of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 6 operating according to a command from the CPU 201 according to the relay device program expanded from the HD 204 onto the RAM 203. Means. The relay device 30 includes a storage unit 3000 configured by the RAM 203 illustrated in FIG. 6 and / or the HD 204 illustrated in FIG.

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

(Each functional configuration of the relay device)
Next, each functional configuration of the relay device 30 will be described in detail. In the following, in describing each functional configuration of the relay device 30, among the components illustrated in FIG. 6, the relationship with the main components for realizing each functional configuration of the relay device 30 is also described. explain.

  The transmission / reception unit 31 of the relay device 30 shown in FIG. 7 is realized by the command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 6 and the network I / F 209 shown in FIG. Various data (or information) is transmitted / received to / from other terminals, devices or systems.

  The state detection unit 32 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 illustrated in FIG. 6, and detects an operating state of the relay device 30 having the state detection unit 32. The operating state includes “online”, “offline”, “busy”, or “temporarily interrupted”.

  The data quality confirmation unit 33 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 6, searches the change quality management DB 3001 (see FIG. 10) using the IP address of the destination terminal as a search key, and relays correspondingly. The image quality of the relayed image data is confirmed by extracting the image quality of the image data.

  The change quality management unit 34 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 6 and changes the contents of the change quality management DB 3001 based on quality information to be described later sent from the management system 50. For example, a video conference is performed by transmitting and receiving high-quality image data between a request source terminal (terminal 10aa) whose terminal ID is “01aa” and a destination terminal (terminal 10db) whose terminal ID is “01db”. While the request is being made, the requesting terminal (terminal 10bb) and the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) that conduct another videoconference start the videoconference via the communication network 2, etc., so that the destination terminal (terminal 10db) When a delay in receiving the image data occurs, the relay device 30 reduces the image quality of the image data that has been relayed from the high image quality to the medium image quality. In such a case, the content of the change quality management DB 3001 is changed so as to lower the image quality of the image data relayed by the relay device 30 from the high image quality to the medium image quality based on the quality information indicating the medium image quality.

  The data quality changing unit 35 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 6, and the image quality of the image data sent from the transmission source terminal is changed based on the contents of the changed change quality management DB 3001. change.

  The storage / reading processing unit 39 is realized by an instruction from the CPU 201 illustrated in FIG. 6 and the HDD 205 illustrated in FIG. 6. The storage / reading processing unit 39 stores various data in the storage unit 3000 or is stored in the storage unit 3000. To read various data.

<Functional configuration of management system>
The management system 50 includes a transmission / reception unit 51, a terminal authentication unit 52, a state management unit 53, a terminal extraction unit 54, a terminal state acquisition unit 55, a primary narrowing unit 56, a session management unit 57, a quality determination unit 58, and a storage / read process. Unit 59 and delay time management unit 60. Each of these units functions or functions realized by any one of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 6 operating according to a command from the CPU 201 according to the management system program expanded from the HD 204 onto the RAM 203. Means. Further, the management system 50 has a storage unit 5000 constructed by the HD 204 shown in FIG.

(Relay device management table)
In the storage unit 5000, a relay device management DB 5001 configured by a relay device management table as shown in FIG. 11 is constructed. In this relay device management table, for each relay device ID of each relay device 30, the operating status of each relay device 30, the reception date and time when status information indicating the operating status is received by the management system 50, and the IP address of the relay device 30 , And the maximum data transmission rate (Mbps) in the relay device 30 is managed in association with each other. For example, in the relay device management table shown in FIG. 11, the relay device 30a with the relay device ID “111a” has an “online” operating state and the date and time when the status information was received by the management system 50 is “2009” "November 10, 13:00" indicates that the IP address of this relay device 30a is "1.2.1.2" and that the maximum data transmission rate in this relay device 30a is 100 Mbps. Yes.

(Terminal authentication management table)
Furthermore, in the storage unit 5000, a terminal authentication management DB 5002 configured by a terminal authentication management table as shown in FIG. In this terminal authentication management table, each password is associated with each terminal ID of all terminals 10 managed by the management system 50 and managed. For example, the terminal authentication management table shown in FIG. 12 indicates that the terminal ID of the terminal 10aa is “01aa” and the password is “aaaa”.

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

(Destination list management table)
Furthermore, in the storage unit 5000, a destination list management DB 5004 configured by a destination list management table as shown in FIG. 14 is constructed. In this destination list management table, all terminal IDs of destination terminals registered as destination terminal candidates are managed in association with terminal IDs of request source terminals that request the start of a call in a video conference. For example, in the destination list management table shown in FIG. 14, the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) whose terminal ID is “01aa” is the destination terminal (terminal 10db) that can request the start of a video conference call. The candidates are indicated to be a terminal 10ab having a terminal ID “01ab”, a terminal 10ba having a terminal ID “01ba”, a terminal 10bb having a terminal ID “01bb”, and the like. This destination terminal candidate is updated by being added or deleted in response to a request for addition or deletion from an arbitrary request source terminal to the management system 50.

(Session management table)
In the storage unit 5000, a session management DB 5005 configured by a session management table as shown in FIG. 15 is constructed. In this session management table, for each selection session ID used to execute a session for selecting the relay device 30, the relay device ID of the relay device 30 used for relaying image data and audio data, the request source terminal Management system that receives a terminal ID, a terminal ID of the destination terminal, a reception delay time (ms) when image data is received at the destination terminal, and delay information indicating the delay time from the destination terminal The reception date and time received at 50 is managed in association with each other. For example, in the session management table shown in FIG. 15, the relay device 30a (relay device ID “111a”) selected in the session executed using the selection session ID “se1” has the terminal ID “01aa”. "And the destination terminal (terminal 10db) whose terminal ID is" 01db "are relayed between the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db)" 2009 " It is shown that the delay time of the image data at “14:00 on November 10” is 200 (ms). When a video conference is performed between the two terminals 10, the reception date and time of the delay information may be managed based on the delay information transmitted from the request source terminal instead of the destination terminal. However, when a video conference is performed between three or more terminals 10, the reception date and time of delay information is managed based on the delay information transmitted from the terminal 10 on the image data and audio data receiving side.

(Address priority management table)
Furthermore, in the storage unit 5000, a priority management DB 5006 configured by an address priority management table as shown in FIG. 16 is constructed. In this address priority management table, in any terminal 10 and any relay device 30, the greater the “same” of the four sets of dot addresses in the general IPv4 IP addresses, the higher the address priority. The difference in dot address and the address priority are managed in association with each other so that the degree point becomes higher. This “same” means that the dot address portions are the same, and “different” means that the dot address portions are different. For example, in the address priority management table shown in FIG. 16, when three values are the same IP address from the top to the bottom of the dot address, the address priority point is “5”. When the two values are the same IP address from the top to the bottom of the dot address, the address priority point is “3”. In this case, whether the value of the lowest dot address is the same or not is not related to the priority. In the case of IP addresses having the same highest value of dot addresses and different second values from the top, the address priority point is “1”. In this case, whether or not the values of the third and lowest dot addresses from the top are the same has no relation to the priority. In the case of IP addresses having different uppermost values of dot addresses, the address priority point is “0”. In this case, whether or not the values of the second, third, and lowest dot addresses from the top are the same has no relation to the priority.

(Transmission speed priority management table)
The priority management DB 5006 built in the storage unit 5000 also includes a transmission speed priority management table as shown in FIG. In this transmission rate priority management table, the maximum data transmission rate and the transmission rate priority are set such that the higher the maximum data transmission rate (Mbps) value in the relay device 30, the higher the transmission rate priority point. Associated and managed. For example, in the transmission rate priority management table shown in FIG. 17, when the maximum data transmission rate in the relay apparatus 30 is 1000 Mbps or more, the transmission rate priority point is “5”. When the maximum data transmission rate in the relay device 30 is 100 Mbps or more and less than 1000 Mbps, the transmission rate priority point is “3”. When the maximum data transmission rate in the relay device 30 is 10 Mbps or more and less than 100 Mbps, the transmission rate priority point is “1”. When the maximum data transmission rate in the relay device 30 is less than 10 Mbps, the transmission rate priority point is “0”.

(Quality control table)
Furthermore, in the storage unit 5000, a quality management DB 5007 configured by a quality management table as shown in FIG. In this quality management table, the longer the delay time (ms) of the image data at the requesting terminal or the destination terminal, the lower the image data delay time and the image data quality so that the image quality of the image data relayed by the relay device 30 is lowered. (Image quality) and are managed in association with each other.

(Functional configuration of the management system)
Next, each functional configuration of the management system 50 will be described in detail. In the following, in describing each functional configuration of the management system 50, among the components shown in FIG. 6, the relationship with the main components for realizing each functional configuration of the management system 50 is also described. explain.

  The transmission / reception unit 51 is executed by the command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 6 and the network I / F 209 shown in FIG. Or information).

  The terminal authentication unit 52 is realized by a command from the CPU 102 shown in FIG. 6, and uses the terminal ID and password included in the login request information received via the transmission / reception unit 51 as a search key, and the storage unit 5000. The terminal authentication management DB 5002 is searched, and terminal authentication is performed by determining whether or not the same terminal ID and password are managed in the terminal authentication management DB 5002.

  The state management unit 53 is realized by an instruction from the CPU 102 shown in FIG. 6, and this request source terminal is stored in the terminal management DB 5003 (see FIG. 13) in order to manage the operating state of the request source terminal that has requested login. The terminal ID, the operating state of the request source terminal, the reception date and time when the login request information is received by the management system 50, and the IP address of the request source terminal are stored and managed in association with each other. The state management unit 53 also manages the terminal based on the state information indicating that the power is turned off, which is sent from the terminal 10 when the user turns the power switch 109 of the terminal 10 from ON to OFF. The operation state indicating online of the DB 5003 (see FIG. 13) is changed to offline.

  The terminal extraction unit 54 is realized by an instruction from the CPU 102 shown in FIG. 6, and searches the destination list management DB 5004 (see FIG. 14) using the terminal ID of the request source terminal that requested the login as a key. The terminal ID is extracted by reading the terminal ID of the candidate destination terminal that can make a call. In addition, the terminal extraction unit 54 searches the destination list management DB 5004 (see FIG. 14) using the terminal ID of the request source terminal that has requested the login as a key, and registers the terminal ID of the request source terminal as a destination terminal candidate. The terminal IDs of other request source terminals are also extracted.

  The terminal status acquisition unit 55 is realized by a command from the CPU 102 shown in FIG. 6 and uses the terminal ID of the destination terminal candidate extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 as a search key as a terminal management DB 5003 (see FIG. 13). ) And the operation state is read for each terminal ID extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54. Thereby, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 can acquire the operating state of the candidate destination terminal that can make a call with the request source terminal that has requested the login. Further, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 searches the terminal management DB 5003 using the terminal ID extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 as a search key, and also acquires the operating state of the request source terminal that has requested login.

  The primary narrowing unit 56 is realized by a command from the CPU 102 shown in FIG. 6, and this final narrowing process is performed in order to support a final narrowing process that finally narrows down from a plurality of relay apparatuses 30 to one relay apparatus 30. Perform the previous primary narrowing process. For this purpose, the primary narrowing-down unit 56, as shown in FIG. 9, in response to an instruction from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 5, the selection session ID generation unit 56a, the terminal IP address extraction unit 56b, the primary selection The unit 56c and the priority determination unit 56d are realized.

  Among these, the selection session ID generation unit 56 a generates a selection session ID used for executing a session for selecting the relay device 30. The terminal IP address extraction unit 56b obtains the terminal management DB 5003 (see FIG. 13) based on the terminal ID of the request source terminal and the terminal ID of the destination terminal included in the start request information sent from the request source terminal. By searching, the IP address of each corresponding terminal 10 is extracted. The primary selection unit 56c selects the relay device ID of the relay device 30 whose operation state is “online” from among the relay devices 30 managed by the relay device management DB 5001 (see FIG. 11). The device 30 is selected.

  Further, the primary selection unit 56c searches the relay device management DB 5001 (see FIG. 11) based on the IP address of the request source terminal and the IP address of the destination terminal extracted by the terminal IP address extraction unit 56b. Thus, for each dot address of the IP address of the selected relay device 30, it is investigated whether it is the same as or different from each dot address in each IP address of the request source terminal and the destination terminal. Further, for each relay device, the primary selection unit 56c includes the higher two relay devices having the higher points of the integrated points obtained by integrating the higher points with respect to the terminal 10 at the address priority points and the transmission speed priority points. By selecting 30, the relay device 30 is further selected. In the present embodiment, the top two relay devices 30 with high points are selected. However, the present invention is not limited to this. If one relay device 30 can be narrowed down as many as possible, the top points with high points are selected. Three or more relay devices 30 may be selected.

  The priority determination unit 56d refers to the priority management DB 5006 (see FIG. 16), and determines an address priority point for each relay device 30 investigated by the primary selection unit 56c. Further, the priority determination unit 56d searches the priority management DB 5006 (see FIG. 17) based on the maximum data transmission rate of each relay device 30 managed by the relay device management DB 5001 (see FIG. 11). The point of the transmission rate priority is determined for each relay device 30 narrowed down by the first narrowing-down process by the primary selection unit 56c.

  Subsequently, the session management unit 57 is realized by an instruction from the CPU 102 shown in FIG. 6, and the selection generated by the selection session ID generation unit 56a in the session management DB 5005 (see FIG. 15) of the storage unit 5000. The session ID, the terminal ID of the request source terminal, and the terminal ID of the destination terminal are stored and managed in association with each other. In addition, the session management unit 57, for the session management DB 5005 (see FIG. 15), for each selection session ID, the relay device of the relay device 30 that is finally selected by the final selection unit 16c of the terminal 10 Store and manage IDs.

  The quality determination unit 58 searches the quality management DB 5007 (see FIG. 18) using the delay time as a search key and extracts the image quality of the corresponding image data, thereby determining the image quality of the image data to be relayed to the relay device 30. To do.

  The storage / read processing unit 59 is executed by the instruction from the CPU 102 shown in FIG. 6 and the HDD 205 shown in FIG. 6, and stores various data in the storage unit 5000 or stored in the storage unit 5000. To read various data.

  The delay time management unit 60 is realized by an instruction from the CPU 102 shown in FIG. 6, and searches the terminal management DB 5003 (see FIG. 13) using the IP address of the destination terminal as a search key, thereby corresponding terminals. The ID is extracted, and further, in the session management table of the session management DB 5005 (see FIG. 15), the delay time indicated by the delay information is stored in the field of the delay time in the record including the extracted terminal ID. And manage.

<< Processing or Operation of Embodiment >>
Next, a processing method in the transmission system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing for managing state information indicating the state of each relay device 30 transmitted from each relay device 30 to the management system 50. FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing in a preparation stage for starting a call between a plurality of terminals 10. FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of narrowing down the relay devices 30. FIG. 22 is a process flow diagram illustrating a process of narrowing down the relay devices 30. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a point calculation state when the relay device 30 performs the narrowing-down process. FIG. 24 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing in which the terminal 10 selects the relay device 30. FIG. 25 is a process flow diagram illustrating a process of selecting the relay device 30 at the terminal. FIG. 26 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing for transmitting and receiving image data and audio data between terminals.

  First, a process for managing state information indicating the state of each relay device 30 transmitted from each relay device 30 to the management system 50 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in each relay device 30, the state detection unit 32 shown in FIG. 7 periodically detects the operating state of the relay device 30 that is its own device (steps S1-1 to S4). Then, the transmission / reception unit 31 of each relay device 30 periodically transmits each state information to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 so that the operation state of each relay device 30 is managed in real time on the management system 50 side. (Steps S2-1 to 4). Each state information includes the relay device ID for each relay device 30 and the operating state detected by the state detection unit 32 of the relay device 30 related to each relay device ID. In the present embodiment, the relay devices (30a, 30b, 30d) operate normally and are “online”, while the relay device 30c is operating, but the relay operation of the relay device 30c is performed. The case where some trouble occurs in the program to be executed and it is “offline” is shown.

  Next, in the management system 50, the transmission / reception unit 51 receives each status information sent from each relay device 30, and the relay device management DB 5001 in the storage unit 5000 via the storage / read processing unit 59 (see FIG. 11). ), Status information is stored and managed for each relay device ID (steps S3-1 to S4). As a result, the operating status of “online”, “offline”, or “failing” is stored and managed for each relay device ID in the relay device management table as shown in FIG. At this time, the reception date and time when the status information is received by the management system 50 is also stored and managed for each relay device ID. If the status information is not sent from the relay device 30, the field portion of the operation state and the field portion of the reception date and time in each record of the relay device management table shown in FIG. The operation status and the reception date and time at the previous reception are shown.

  Next, a transmission / reception process of each management information in a preparation stage before starting a call between the terminal 10aa and the terminal 10db will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 20, various types of management information are transmitted and received through the management information session sei shown in FIG.

  First, when the user turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 5, the operation input accepting unit 12 shown in FIG. 7 accepts the power on and turns on the power (step S21). The login request unit 13 automatically transmits login request information indicating a login request from the transmission / reception unit 11 to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 in response to the reception of the power ON (step S22). The login request information includes a terminal ID and a password for identifying the terminal 10aa that is the own terminal as a request source. These terminal ID and password are data read from the storage unit 1000 via the storage / read processing unit 19 and sent to the transmission / reception unit 11. When the login request information is transmitted from the terminal 10aa to the management system 50, the management system 50 that is the receiving side can grasp the IP address of the terminal 10ab that is the transmitting side.

  Next, the terminal authentication unit 52 of the management system 50 uses the terminal ID and password included in the login request information received via the transmission / reception unit 51 as search keys, and the terminal authentication management DB 5002 of the storage unit 5000 (see FIG. 12). ) And terminal authentication is performed by determining whether the same terminal ID and password are managed in the terminal authentication management DB 5002 (step S23). Since the same terminal ID and password are managed by the terminal authentication unit 52, if it is determined that the login request is from the terminal 10 having a valid usage right, the state management unit 53 The DB 5003 (see FIG. 13) stores the terminal ID of the terminal 10aa, the operating state, the reception date and time when the login request information is received, and the IP address of the terminal 10aa in association with each other (step S24). Accordingly, in the terminal management table shown in FIG. 13, the terminal ID “01aa”, the operation state “online”, the reception date and time “2009.11.10.13:40”, and the IP address “1” of the terminal 10aa are displayed. .2.1.3 "is managed in association with each other.

  Then, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 sends the authentication result information indicating the authentication result obtained by the terminal authentication unit 52 via the communication network 2 to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that made the login request. (Step S25). In the present embodiment, the case where the terminal authentication unit 52 determines that the terminal has a valid usage right will be described below.

  The terminal extraction unit 54 of the management system 50 searches the destination list management DB 5004 (see FIG. 14) using the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login as a search key, and requests the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). The terminal IDs of candidate destination terminals that can communicate with the destination terminal are read out (step S26). Here, the terminal IDs (“01ab”, “01ba”, “01db”) of the destination terminals (terminals 10ab, 10ba, 10db) corresponding to the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) are extracted. Will be.

  Next, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 uses the terminal IDs (“01ab”, “01ba”, “01db”) of the destination terminal candidates extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 as search keys, and the terminal management DB 5003 (FIG. 13). Each of the terminals (10ab, 10ba, 10db) by reading the operating state ("offline", "online", "online") for each terminal ID extracted by the terminal extracting unit 54. A state is acquired (step S27).

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 51 uses the terminal IDs (“01ab”, “01ba”, “01db”) as search keys used in step S27 and the corresponding destination terminals (terminals 10ab, 10ba, 10db). Are transmitted to the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) via the communication network 2 (step S28). The destination state information including the respective operating states (“offline”, “online”, “online”). As a result, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) has the respective current operating states (“offline” of the terminals (10ab, 10ba, 10db) that are candidates for destination terminals that can communicate with the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). ”,“ Online ”,“ online ”).

  Further, the terminal extraction unit 54 of the management system 50 searches the destination list management DB 5004 (see FIG. 14) using the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login as a search key, and the request source The terminal IDs of other requesting terminals that have registered the terminal ID “01aa” of the terminal (terminal 10aa) as candidates for the destination terminal are extracted (step S29). In the destination list management table shown in FIG. 14, the terminal IDs of the other request source terminals to be extracted are “01ab”, “01ba”, and “01db”.

  Next, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 of the management system 50 searches the terminal state management DB 5003 (see FIG. 13) using the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that has made the login request as a search key. Then, the operating state of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login is acquired (step S30).

  Then, the transmission / reception unit 51 includes the terminal management DB 5003 (FIG. 13) among the terminals (10ab, 10ba, 10db) related to the terminal ID (“01ab”, “01ba”, “01db”) extracted in step S29. The terminal (10ba, 10db) whose operation state is “online” in the reference) includes the terminal ID “01aa” and the operation state “online” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) acquired in step S30. The destination state information is transmitted (steps S31-1, 2). When the transmission / reception unit 51 transmits the destination status information to the terminals (10ba, 10db), it is managed by the terminal management table shown in FIG. 13 based on the terminal IDs (“01ba”, “01db”). Refers to the IP address of the terminal being used. Accordingly, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login is sent to each of the other destination terminals (terminals 10db and 10ba) that can communicate with the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login. The terminal ID “01aa” and the operation state “online” can be transmitted.

  On the other hand, in the other terminals 10 as well, when the user turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 6, the operation input receiving unit 12 shown in FIG. Since the same processing as the processing of steps S22 to S31-1, 2 is performed, the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, processing for narrowing down the relay devices 30 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 21, various types of management information are transmitted and received through the management information session sei shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) is the terminal (10ba, 10db) whose operation state is online based on the terminal state information received in step S32 among the terminals 10 as destination candidates. ) And at least one of them. Therefore, hereinafter, a case where the user of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) has selected to start a call with the destination terminal (terminal 10db) will be described.

  First, when the user presses the operation button 108 shown in FIG. 5 and selects the terminal 10db, the operation input reception unit 12 shown in FIG. 7 starts a call with the destination terminal (terminal 10db). The request to be received is accepted (step S41). Then, the transmission / reception unit 11 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) includes the terminal ID “01aa” of the terminal 10aa and the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db), and indicates a start request indicating that a call is to be started. Information is transmitted to the management system 50 (step S42). Accordingly, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 can receive the start request information and grasp the IP address “1.2.1.3” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that is the transmission source. .

  Then, based on the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) included in the start request information, the state management unit 53 determines the terminal management DB 5003 (see FIG. 13). ) In the terminal management table, both of the field portions of the operation state of the records each including the terminal ID “01aa” and the terminal ID “01db” are changed to “busy” (step S43). In this state, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db) have not started a call, but are in a call state and the other terminal 10 is a request source terminal (terminal 10aa) or a destination terminal. When a call is made to (terminal 10db), a notification sound or a display indicating a so-called busy state is output.

  Next, a process for executing a session for selecting the relay device 30 will be described. First, the selection session ID generation unit 56a shown in FIG. 9 generates a selection session ID used for executing a session for selecting the relay device 30 (step S44). Then, the session management unit 57 stores the selection session ID “se1” generated in step S44 and the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) in the session management DB 5005 (see FIG. 15) of the storage unit 5000. And the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) are stored and managed in association with each other (step S45).

  Next, the primary screening unit 56 of the management system 50 shown in FIG. 7 includes a request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and a destination terminal based on the relay device management DB 5001, the terminal management DB 5003, and the priority management DB 5006. The primary narrowing down of the relay device 30 for relaying a call with the (terminal 10db) is performed (step S46).

  Here, the process in step S46 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. First, the terminal IP address extraction unit 56b shown in FIG. 9 has the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) included in the start communication information sent from the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). By searching the terminal management DB 5003 (see FIG. 13) based on the terminal ID “01db” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db), the IP addresses (“1.2” of the corresponding terminals (10aa, 10db) are searched. 1.3 ”and“ 1.3.2.4 ”) are extracted (step S46-1).

  Next, the primary selection unit 56c selects each of the relay devices (30a, 30b, 30d) that are “online” among the operating states of the relay device 30 managed by the relay device management DB 5001 (see FIG. 11). The relay device ID (111a, 111b, 111d) is selected (step S46-2). Further, the primary selection unit 56c extracts the IP address “1.2.1.3” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the IP address “1” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) extracted in step S46-1. .3.2.4 "is used to search the relay device management DB 5001 (see FIG. 11), and thereby each IP address (" "of the relay device (30a, 30b, 30d) selected in step S46-2 is selected. "1.2.1.2.", "1.2.2.2", "1.3.2.2") for each dot address of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and destination terminal (terminal 10db). ) Is checked whether it is the same as or different from each dot address in each IP address (“1.2.1.3”, “1.3.2.4”) (step S46-3).

  Next, the priority determination unit 57c refers to the priority management DB 5006 (see FIG. 16), and determines the point of the address priority for each relay device (30a, 30b, 30d) investigated in step 46-3. Is determined (step S46-4). When the result of this determination process is shown in a table, the state shown in FIG. 23 is obtained. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a calculation state of priority points when the relay device 30 performs the narrowing-down process. In FIG. 23, an address priority point, a transmission speed priority point, and an integration point are shown for each relay device ID. The address priority points further indicate points for the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and points for the destination terminal (terminal 10db) of each relay device 30. The integration point is the sum of the higher one of the two address priority points and the transmission speed priority point.

  In the present embodiment, the IP address “1.2.1.2” of the relay device 30a is different from the IP address “1.2.1.3” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). .. ”, the address priority point is“ 5 ”as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the IP address “1.2.1.2” of the relay device 30a is different from the IP address “1.3.2.4” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db). As shown in FIG. 16, since “same. Different. Different. Different”, the point of the address priority is “1” as shown in FIG. Further, the IP address “1.2.2.2” of the relay device 30b is “same. Same. Different. Different” with respect to the IP address “1.2.1.3” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). Therefore, the address priority point is “3”. Further, the IP address “1.2.2.2” of the relay device 30b is “same. Different. Same. Different” with respect to the IP address “1.3.2.4” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db). Therefore, the point of address priority is “1”. Further, the IP address “1.3.2.2” of the relay device 30d is “same. Different. Different. Different” with respect to the IP address “1.2.1.3” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). Therefore, the address priority point is “1”. Further, the IP address “1.3.2.2” of the relay device 30d is “same. Same. Same. Different” with respect to the IP address “1.3.2.4” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db). Therefore, the address priority point is “5”.

  Next, returning to FIG. 22, the priority determination unit 57d determines the priority management DB 5006 (FIG. 17) based on the maximum data transmission rate of each relay device 30 managed by the relay device management DB 5001 (see FIG. 11). By searching for (reference), the point of the transmission speed priority is determined for each relay device (30a, 30b, 30d) narrowed down by the first narrowing-down process in step S46-2 (step S46-5). In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the maximum data transmission rate of the relay device 30a is 100 (Mbps). Therefore, referring to the transmission rate priority shown in FIG. The degree is 3 points. Similarly, if the maximum data transmission rate of the relay device 30b is calculated to be 1000 (Mbps), the transmission rate priority is 5 points. Similarly, if the maximum data transmission rate of the relay device 30d is calculated to be 10 (Mbps), the transmission rate priority is 1 point.

  Next, for each relay device (30a, 30b, 30d), the primary selection unit 56c integrates the higher point of the terminals (10aa, 10db) and the transmission speed priority point at the address priority point. Among the integrated points, the top two relay devices 30 with the highest points are selected (step 46-6). In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 23, since the relay device IDs (111a, 111b, 111d) have integration points “8”, “8”, and “6”, respectively, the relay device ID “ The relay device 30a related to “111a” and the relay device 30b related to the relay device ID “111b” are selected.

  When the narrowing-down process in step S46 is completed, the transmission / reception unit 51 illustrated in FIG. 7 transmits the number of narrowed relay apparatuses 30 to the destination terminal (terminal 10db) via the communication network 2. Relay device narrowing information is transmitted (step S47). The relay device narrowing information includes the number “2” of the relay devices 30 narrowed down in the step 46, the terminal ID “01aa” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), and the selection session ID “se1”. It is. Thereby, the terminal 10db can grasp how many relay devices 30 are in the execution of the session with the selection session ID “se1” and which terminal 10 has requested to start a call. At the same time, the IP address “1.1.1.2” of the management system 50 that is the transmission source of the relay device narrowing information can be grasped.

  Then, the terminal 10db transmits reception completion information indicating that reception of the relay device narrowing information is completed from the transmission / reception unit 11 to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 (step S48). This reception completion information includes the session ID “se1”. As a result, the management system 50 completes the transmission of the number of relay apparatuses being executed with the session ID “se1”, and the IP address “1.3.2.4” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) that is the transmission source. Can be grasped.

  Next, a process in which the destination terminal (terminal 10db) selects the relay device 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 24, various types of management information are transmitted and received by the management information session sei shown in FIG.

  First, before starting a video conference call, the management system 50 provides pre-relay request information for requesting relay in advance to each of the relay devices (30a, 30b) narrowed down in step S46. Transmit (steps S61-1, 2). The pre-relay request information includes the session ID “se1”, the IP address “1.2.1.3” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), and the IP address “1.3.2” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db). .4 "is included. As a result, each relay device (30a, 30b) can grasp which selection session it belongs to, what the request source terminal is, and what the destination terminal is, and the pre-relay request information The IP address “1.1.1.2” of the management system 50 that is the sender of

  Next, each of the relay devices (30a, 30b) sends the transmission / reception unit 31 via the communication network 2 to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) ascertained in steps S61-1, 2 before starting the call. Pre-transmission request information indicating that pre-transmission information including ping (Packet Internet Groper), which will be described later, is transmitted is transmitted to each relay device (30a, 30b) as its own device (steps S62-1, 2). . This pre-transmission information includes the session ID “se1”. Accordingly, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) grasps that the pre-transmission information is transmitted to each relay device (30a, 30b) in the selection process of the relay device 30 executed with the session ID “se1”. The IP addresses (“1.2.1.2” and “1.2.2.2”) of the relay apparatuses (30a, 30b) that are the transmission sources of the advance transmission request information can be grasped.

  The management system 50 directly notifies the IP address of the destination terminal to the relay device 30a as in step S61-1, without notifying the request source terminal of the IP address of the destination terminal. As in step S61-2, the relay device 30a requests the request source terminal to transmit the pre-transmission request information to the own device (relay device 30a). This is to ensure security by not informing the IP address of 10.

  Next, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) transmits the pre-transmission information from the transmission / reception unit 11 to each relay device (30a, 30b) via the communication network 2 (steps S63-1, 2). Prior to transmission of image data and audio data, this pre-transmission information is transmitted to the destination terminal (terminal 10db) via each relay device (30a, 30b) instead of these image data and audio data. This information is used to measure the time required from transmission of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) to reception of the destination terminal (terminal 10db). In addition, the advance transmission information includes a ping for confirming that the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), the relay devices (30a, 30b), and the destination terminal (terminal 10db) are connected to be communicable, and the request source The transmission date and time when the pre-transmission information is transmitted from the terminal (terminal 10aa) and the session ID “se1” are included. Thereby, each relay device (30a, 30b) can grasp that the pre-transmission information has been sent in the execution of the session with the selection session ID “se1”, and is a transmission source of the pre-transmission information. The IP address “1.2.1.3” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) can be grasped.

  Next, each relay device (30a, 30b) receives the IP address “1.3.2.4 of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) included in the pre-relay request information received in steps S61-1, 2 above. ", The above-mentioned pre-transmission information is relayed (steps S64-1, 2). Thereby, the destination terminal (terminal 10db) can grasp that the pre-transmission information has been sent in the execution of the session with the session ID “se1”, and is a transmission source (relay source) of the pre-transmission information. The IP address (“1.2.1.2”, “1.2.2.2”) of the relay device (30a, 30b) can be grasped.

  Next, the final narrowing unit 16 of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) finally narrows down to one relay device 30 that relays image data and audio data in a video conference call based on the pre-transmission information (step S65). ).

  Here, the process in step S65 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. First, the measurement unit 16a of the final narrowing unit 16 illustrated in FIG. 8 receives the reception when the transmission / reception unit 11 of the terminal 10db receives, for each pre-transmission information relayed by each relay device (30a, 30b). The date and time are measured (step S65-1). Next, the calculation unit 16b determines, for each pre-transmission information whose reception time is measured, from the transmission of each pre-transmission information based on the difference between the reception date and time and the transmission date and time included in the pre-transmission information. The time required until reception is calculated (step S65-2). Next, the final selection unit 16c determines whether or not all pieces of pre-transmission information corresponding to the number “2” of relay devices 30 scheduled to be relayed have been received in the execution of the session with the session ID “se1” (Step S65). -3). If not all have been received (NO), the final selection unit 16c determines whether or not a predetermined time (here, 1 minute) has elapsed since the terminal 10db received the pre-transmission information (step S65-4). ). Further, if the predetermined time has not elapsed (NO), the process returns to step S65-1. On the other hand, when all the data is received in step 65-3 (YES) or when a predetermined time has elapsed (YES) in step S65-4, the final selection unit 16c has been calculated by the calculation unit 16b so far. One relay device 30 that relays the pre-transmission information that requires the shortest required time is selected (step S65-5). In the present embodiment, the relay device 30a is selected on the assumption that the pre-transmission information relayed by the relay device 30a has a shorter time from transmission to reception than the pre-transmission information relayed by the relay device 30b. Is shown.

  Next, the destination terminal (terminal 10db) transmits selection information indicating that the relay device 30a has been selected from the transmission / reception unit 11 to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 (step S66). This selection information includes the session ID “se1” and the relay device ID “111a” of the selected relay device 30a. Accordingly, the management system 50 can grasp that the relay device 30a has been selected in the execution of the session with the session ID “se1”, and can also determine the IP address “1” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) that is the transmission source of the selection information. .3.2.4 ”.

  Next, the session management unit 57 of the management system 50 finally adds 1 to the field part of the relay device ID of the record including the session ID “se1” in the session management table of the session management DB 5005 (see FIG. 15). The relay device ID “111a” of the selected relay device 30a is stored and managed (step S67). Then, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management system 50 transmits relay start request information indicating a request to start relaying to the relay device 30a via the communication network 2 (step S68). In this relay start request information, each IP address (“1.2.1.3”, “1.3.2.4”) of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and destination terminal (terminal 10db) to be relayed is included. It is included. Thereby, since the relay device 30a can grasp that the relay device 30a as its own device has been selected, three image data of low resolution, medium resolution, and high resolution between the terminals (10aa, 10db), At the same time, a session for calling the voice data is established (step S69). Therefore, the terminals (10aa, 10db) can start a video conference call.

  In step S47, the management system 50 transmits relay device narrowing information to the destination terminal (terminal 10db), and relays on the destination terminal (terminal 10db) side through steps S48 to S64-1,2. Although the device selection process (step S65) has been performed, the present invention is not limited to this. In step S47, the management system 50 transmits the relay device narrowing information to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). From S64-1 and S64-1, the transmission source and reception source of each information may be switched between the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) and the destination terminal (terminal 10db). Thereby, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) can perform the relay device selection process instead of step S65, and can also transmit the selection information instead of step S66.

  Next, a process for transmitting and receiving image data and audio data to perform a video conference call between the request source terminal and the destination terminal will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 26. Note that image data and audio data are transmitted and received in one-way processing for transmitting image data and audio data from the terminal 10aa to the terminal 10db and in reverse processing for transmitting image data and audio data from the terminal 10db to the terminal 10aa. Since the delay time detection and the like described later are the same process, the one-way communication will be described, and the reverse communication will be omitted.

  First, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the image data of the subject imaged by the imaging unit 14a and the audio input by the audio input unit 15a by the image / audio data session sed shown in FIG. The voice data is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 11 to the relay device 30a via the communication network 2 (step S81). In the present embodiment, the high-quality image data including the low resolution, the medium resolution, and the high resolution shown in FIG. 3 and the audio data are transmitted. Thereby, in the relay device 30a, the transmission / reception unit 31 receives the image data and the audio data of the three resolutions. Then, the data quality confirmation unit 33 searches the change quality management DB 3001 (see FIG. 10) using the IP address “1.3.2.4” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) as a search key, and the corresponding relay image By extracting the image quality of the data, the image quality of the image data to be relayed is confirmed (step S82). In the present embodiment, since the image quality of the confirmed image data is “high image quality” and is the same as the image quality of the image data received by the transmission / reception unit 31, the relay device 30a uses the session for image / audio data sed. The image data with the same image quality and the sound data with the same sound quality are transferred to the destination terminal (terminal 10db) (step S83). As a result, the destination terminal (terminal 10db) receives the high-quality image data and the audio data composed of the low resolution, the medium resolution, and the high resolution at the transmission / reception unit 11. Then, the display control unit 17 can combine the three image quality image data to display an image on the display 120, and the sound output unit 15b can output sound based on the sound data.

  Next, the delay detection unit 18 of the terminal 10db detects the reception delay time of the image data received by the transmission / reception unit 11 at regular time intervals (for example, every second) (step S84). In the present embodiment, the following description is continued for a case where the delay time is 200 (ms).

  The transmission / reception unit 11 of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) sends delay information indicating the delay time “200 (ms)” to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 by the management information session sei shown in FIG. Transmit (step S85). As a result, the management system 50 can grasp the delay time and the IP address “1.3.2.4” of the terminal 10db that is the transmission source of the delay information.

  Next, the delay time management unit 60 of the management system 50 searches the terminal management DB 5003 (see FIG. 13) using the IP address “1.3.2.4” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) as a search key. Then, the corresponding terminal ID “01db” is extracted, and in the session management table of the session management DB 5005 (see FIG. 15), the delay information field portion of the record of the terminal ID “01db” is indicated by the delay information. The stored delay time “200 (ms)” is stored and managed (step S86).

  Next, the quality determination unit 58 searches the quality management DB 5007 (see FIG. 18) using the delay time “200 (ms)” as a search key, and extracts the image quality “medium image quality” of the corresponding image data. The image quality is determined as “medium image quality” (step S87).

  Next, the transmitting / receiving unit 51 uses the relay device ID “111a” associated with the terminal ID “01db” in the session management table of the session management DB (see FIG. 15) as a search key, and the relay device management DB 5001 (see FIG. 15). 11) and the IP address “1.2.1.2” of the corresponding relay device 30a is extracted (step S88). Then, the transmission / reception unit 51 transmits the quality “medium image quality” of the image data determined in step 87 to the relay device 30a via the communication network 2 by the management information session sei shown in FIG. Information is transmitted (step S89). This quality information includes the IP address “1.3.2.4” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) used as the search key in step S86. Thereby, in the relay device 30a, the change quality management unit 34 stores the IP address “1.3.2.4” of the destination terminal 10 (here, the terminal 10db) in the change quality management DB 3001 (see FIG. 10). , And the image quality “medium image quality” of the relayed image data is stored and managed in association with each other (step S90).

  Next, the terminal 10aa continues to the relay device 30a through the image / audio data session sed in the same manner as in the above step S81, and the high-quality image data including the low resolution, medium resolution, and high resolution, and Audio data is transmitted (step S91). As a result, in the relay device 30a, as in step S82, the data quality confirmation unit 33 uses the IP address “1.3.2.4” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) as a search key to change the quality management DB 3001 ( 10) and the image quality “medium image quality” of the corresponding image data to be relayed is extracted to check the image quality of the image data to be relayed (step S92). In this embodiment, since the image quality of the confirmed image data is “medium image quality” and lower than the image quality “high image quality” of the image data received by the transmission / reception unit 31, the data quality changing unit 35 The image quality of the image data is changed by suppressing the image quality from “high image quality” to “medium image quality” (step S93).

  Then, the image / sound data session sed changes the image data in which the image quality of the image data is changed to “medium image quality” and the sound quality of the sound to the terminal 10 db via the communication network 2. Audio data that has not been transmitted is transmitted (step S94). As a result, the destination terminal (terminal 10db) receives the image data and audio data of medium quality composed of two of low resolution and medium resolution by the transmission / reception unit 11. Then, the display control unit 17 can combine the two resolution image data to display the image on the display 120, and the audio output unit 15b can output the audio based on the audio data.

  As described above, when a reception delay occurs at the destination terminal (terminal 10db) that receives the image data, the relay device 30a changes the quality of the image and gives a strange feeling to the person participating in the video conference. Can not be.

<< Main effects of this embodiment >>
As described above, according to the present embodiment, even if the environment of the LAN 2 such as the IP address of the relay device 30 in the communication network 2 can be grasped, it is difficult to grasp the entire environment of the Internet 2i. Therefore, first, the environment information that can be grasped is narrowed down to two or more of 30 relay devices that relay image data and audio data. Then, before actually transmitting / receiving the image data and audio data among the plurality of terminals 10, it is actually transmitted the earliest in advance by transmitting / receiving the pre-transmission information instead of the image data and audio data. There is an effect that the information can be narrowed down to one relay device 30 capable of relaying information.

  That is, by selecting the relay device 30 to which the upper two or more IP addresses close to any of the IP addresses of the terminal 10 are assigned, two or more candidates for the relay device 30 to be finally used are left. be able to. As a result, the transmission / reception information is transmitted / received between the request source terminal and the destination terminal via each relay device 30 that is actually a candidate, so that transmission / reception among the two or more candidate relay devices 30 is performed. Can be narrowed down to relay devices 30 that relayed the pre-transmission information with the shortest required time. Therefore, it is possible to realize transmission and reception of high-quality image data or audio data to the maximum in the current communication network 2 environment.

  In the present embodiment, when narrowing down the relay devices 30, not only the relay device 30 having an IP address close to the IP address of the terminal 10 that conducts the video conference is preferentially selected, but the maximum data transmission in each relay device 30 is also performed. In consideration of speed, two or more relay devices 30 are selected. Thereby, the effect that the candidate of the relay apparatus 30 according to the environment of the actual communication network 2 can be narrowed down is produced.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, when narrowing down the relay devices 30, the candidates for the relay devices 30 can be narrowed down further in accordance with the environment of the actual communication network 2 in order to narrow down the relay devices 30 whose operation state is online. it can.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 27 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing in which a terminal selects a relay device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Note that the present embodiment and the first embodiment are different only in the processing and operation in FIG. 27 and FIG. 24, respectively, so only the difference in processing and operation will be described here as shown below. To do.

<< Processing or Operation of Embodiment >>
In steps S61-1, S62-1, S61-2, and S62-2 in FIG. 24 of the first embodiment, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) is sent from the management system 50 via each relay device (30a, 30b). In the present embodiment, the request information is transmitted directly from the management system 50 to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). To do.

  That is, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 27, first, the management system 50 transmits pre-transmission request information to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) (step S161). In this case, the pre-transmission request information includes the session ID “se1” and the IP addresses (“1.2.1.2” and “1.2.2. 2 ”) and the IP address“ 1.3.2.4 ”of the destination terminal (terminal 10db). Thereby, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) belongs to which selection session, the relay device 30 that is the final narrowing candidate by the primary narrowing down, and the IP address of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) It is possible to grasp what the address is and to grasp the IP address “1.1.1.2” of the management system 50 that is the transmission source of the pre-transmission request information.

  Next, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) transmits the advance transmission information to the relay devices (30a, 30b) (steps S162-1, 2). This pre-transmission information includes the ping, the transmission date and time when the pre-transmission information was transmitted from the request source terminal (terminal 10aa), and the session ID “se1”, as in steps S63-1 and S63-2 in the first embodiment. In addition, the IP address “1.3.2.4” of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) is further included. Thereby, each relay device (30a, 30b) can grasp that the pre-transmission information has been sent in the execution of the session with the selection session ID “se1”, and is a transmission source of the pre-transmission information. The IP address “1.2.1.3” of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) can be grasped, and further, the IP address “1.3 of the destination terminal (terminal 10db) that is the transmission destination of this pre-transmission information. .2.4 ". Therefore, each relay apparatus (30a, 30b) can transmit (or transfer) the pre-transmission information to the acquired IP address of the destination terminal (terminal 10db).

  Note that steps S163-1, 2 to S168 in FIG. 27 are the same processes as S64-1, 2 to S69 in FIG. 24 in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

<< Main effects of this embodiment >>
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the same effects as the main effects of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  However, in this embodiment, since the requesting terminal is notified of the IP address of the destination terminal, it is inferior in terms of security compared to the first embodiment. However, for example, in the first embodiment, when a firewall is installed in order to ensure the confidentiality of the LAN 2a shown in FIG. 1, from the relay device 30b to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). ), It may be impossible to deliver the advance transmission request information in step S62-2. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the advance transmission request information is not sent from the relay device 30 side to the terminal 10aa, the problem that the advance transmission request information cannot be delivered does not occur. In this case, the management system 50 is on the communication network outside the firewall. However, since the terminal 10aa and the management system 50 are already connected as shown in FIG. 50 can pass through the firewall and deliver the pre-transmission request information to the terminal 10aa.

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

  Also, a recording medium such as a CD-ROM in which the terminal program, the relay device program, or the transmission management program of each of the above embodiments is stored, the HD 204 in which these programs are stored, and the program including the HD 204 The providing system 90 is used when the terminal program, the relay device program, and the transmission management program are provided to a user or the like as a program product in Japan or abroad.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, as an example of the image quality of the image data relayed by the relay device 30 using the changed quality management table shown in FIG. 10 and the quality management table shown in FIG. Although it was managed by focusing on the resolution of the image of the data, the present invention is not limited to this. Other examples of the quality include the depth of image quality of the image data, the sampling frequency of the audio data, and the bit length of the audio data. You may manage it paying attention to. Further, the audio data may be transmitted and received by being divided into data of three types of resolution (high resolution, medium resolution, and low resolution).

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

  Further, in the above embodiment, the IP address of the relay device is managed in FIG. 11 and the IP address of the terminal in FIG. 13, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the relay device 30 is specified on the communication network 2. Each relay device specifying information or terminal specifying information for specifying the terminal 10 on the communication network 2 may manage each FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name). In this case, an IP address corresponding to the FQDN is acquired by a known DNS (Domain Name System) server. In addition to “relay device specifying information for specifying the relay device 30 in the communication network 2”, “relay device connection destination information indicating a connection destination to the relay device 30 on the communication network 2” or “communication It may be expressed as “relay device destination information indicating a destination to the relay device 30 on the network 2”. Similarly, not only “terminal specifying information for specifying the terminal 10 in the communication network 2” but also “terminal connection destination information indicating a connection destination to the terminal 10 on the communication network 2” or “on the communication network 2 It may be expressed as “terminal destination information indicating a destination to the terminal 10”.

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

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

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

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transmission system 10 Transmission terminal 11 Transmission / reception part 16 Final narrowing-down part 16a Measurement part (an example of a measurement means)
16b calculation unit (an example of calculation means)
16c Final selection unit (an example of final selection means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 17 Display control part 18 Delay detection part 30 Relay apparatus 31 Transmission / reception part 32 State detection part 33 Data quality confirmation part 34 Change quality management part 35 Data quality change part 50 Transmission management system 51 Transmission / reception part (an example of a transmission means, identification information reception means) An example of transmission information receiving means)
52 terminal authentication unit 53 state management unit 54 terminal extraction unit 55 terminal state acquisition unit 56 primary narrowing unit 56a selection session ID generation unit 56b terminal IP address extraction unit (an example of extraction means)
56c Primary selection unit 56c (an example of primary selection means)
56d Priority determining unit (an example of priority determining means)
57 session management unit 58 quality determination unit 60 delay time management unit 70 router 90 program providing system 100 maintenance system 1000 storage unit (an example of storage means)
3000 storage unit 3001 change quality management DB
5000 storage unit 5001 relay device management DB (an example of relay device management means)
5002 Terminal authentication management DB (an example of terminal management means)
5003 Terminal management DB
5004 Destination list management DB
5005 Session management DB
5006 Priority management DB (an example of priority management means)
5007 Quality Management DB

JP 2008-227577 A

Claims (12)

A transmission management system that provides support for finally narrowing a relay device for relaying at least one of image data and audio data communicated between a plurality of transmission terminals via a communication network to one,
Relay for managing relay device specifying information indicating an IP address for specifying the relay device on the communication network or an FQDN corresponding to the IP address for each relay device identification information for identifying the relay device Device management means;
Terminal management means for managing terminal identification information indicating an IP address for identifying the transmission terminal on the communication network or indicating an FQDN corresponding to the IP address for each terminal identification information for identifying the transmission terminal When,
Identification information receiving means for receiving terminal identification information for identifying the transmission terminal as the request source and terminal identification information for identifying the transmission terminal as the destination from the transmission terminal as the predetermined request source;
By searching the terminal management means based on at least one of terminal identification information for identifying the transmission terminal as the request source and terminal identification information for identifying the transmission terminal as the destination, the corresponding transmission terminal Extracting means for extracting the terminal specific information of
By extracting the relay device management means based on the IP address indicated by the extracted terminal identification information or the IP address corresponding to the FQDN indicated by the extracted terminal identification information, the extracted terminal identification information A relay indicating an upper two or more IP addresses or an FQDN corresponding to the upper two or more IP addresses, which are close to the IP address corresponding to the FQDN indicated by the extracted terminal specifying information or the IP address indicated by Primary selection means for selecting relay device identification information of the relay devices to which the device identification information is respectively assigned;
The transmission management system is characterized in that a primary narrowing process before finally narrowing down to one relay device is performed. The transmission management system according to claim 1, further comprising:
Priority management means for managing address priority indicating that the closer the IP address is, the higher the ratio selected by the primary selection means is;
For the IP address indicated by the terminal identification information of the transmission terminal extracted by the extracting means or the IP address corresponding to the FQDN indicated by the extracted terminal identification information, the IP indicated by the relay device identification information of the relay device A priority determining unit that determines the address priority of the IP address corresponding to the address or the FQDN indicated by the relay device identification information;
2. The transmission management system according to claim 1, wherein the primary selection unit selects relay device identification information of two or more higher-order relay devices having the determined priority. The relay device management means manages the maximum data transmission rate in the relay device for each relay device identification information,
The priority management means manages the transmission speed priority indicating that the higher the maximum data transmission speed, the higher the ratio selected by the selection means,
The priority determination means determines the transmission speed priority of the maximum data transmission speed in the relay apparatus managed by the relay apparatus management means,
The primary selection unit selects relay device identification information of two or more higher-order relay devices having a high priority combining the determined address priority and the transmission speed priority. The transmission management system described. The relay device management means manages the operating state of the relay device for each relay device identification information of the relay device,
The transmission management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the primary selection unit selects from relay device identification information of a relay device whose operation state is online.   The operation status of the relay device managed by the relay device management means is that the status information indicating the operation status is transmitted from each relay device to the communication network periodically or when the operation status of each relay device is changed. The transmission management system according to claim 4, wherein the transmission management system is updated on the basis of being sent through the transmission management system. Transmitting means for transmitting two or more relay device identification information selected by the primary selection means to the transmission terminal as the request source or the transmission terminal as the destination;
The transmission management system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission management system comprises: 7. The transmission management system according to claim 6, and one of the transmission terminals as the request source and the transmission terminal as the destination, wherein the two or more relay device identification information has not been transmitted by the transmission unit A transmission system having a terminal and the other transmission terminal to which the two or more relay device identification information has been transmitted,
The one transmission terminal is
Pre-transmission information transmitted from the other transmission terminal before at least one of the image data and the audio data is transmitted, and indicated by two or more relay device identification information transmitted by the transmission means Transmission information receiving means for receiving each of the prior transmission information that is transmitted through each of the relay devices and is transmitted from the other transmission terminal and indicated by the transmission time.
Measuring means for measuring a reception time when received by the transmission information receiving means for each received prior transmission information;
For each pre-transmission information for which the reception time is measured, based on the difference between the measured reception time and the transmission time included in the pre-transmission information, the transmission to reception of the pre-transmission information is performed. A calculation means for calculating the required time;
A final selection means for selecting a relay device that relayed the pre-transmission information that required the shortest required time among the calculated required times;
By having the transmission system, characterized in that finally narrowed down to a single relay device. The transmission information receiving means receives relay device number information indicating the number of relay devices transmitted from the other transmission terminal and scheduled to relay the advance transmission information,
The calculation means calculates a time required from transmission to reception for a number of pieces of pre-transmission information corresponding to the number of relay apparatuses indicated by the received relay apparatus number information. The transmission system described in 1. The transmission information receiving means receives relay device number information including the number of relay devices transmitted from the other transmission terminal and scheduled to relay the advance transmission information,
The calculation means calculates a time required from transmission to reception only for the pre-transmission information received within a predetermined time after the transmission device number information is received by the transmission information reception means. The transmission system according to claim 7. A transmission management program for causing a computer to realize the means according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The program providing system according to claim 10, wherein the transmission management program according to claim 10 is provided to the computer via a communication network.   A maintenance system that performs maintenance of the transmission management system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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