JP6819497B2 - Information processing terminal, communication system, information processing program and communication method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to information processing terminals, communication systems, information processing programs and communication methods.

In recent years, a conference system for holding a conference via a communication network such as the Internet has become widespread. In such a conference system, a method is known in which a destination list indicating terminal information of a destination (destination) is registered in advance in a terminal on the calling side, and communication is started with a terminal indicated by the destination selected from the destination list. There is.

In the conventional conference system, when a user of a certain terminal participates in a conference with restricted participants, he / she first tries to connect to the terminal of another participant and confirms the status of the terminal of the other participant. Therefore, it was necessary to send information indicating the eligibility for participation, and the operation was complicated.

The disclosed technology is intended to simplify the operation of participating in sessions with restricted participation.

The disclosed technology is an information processing terminal that communicates with another information processing terminal using the identification information managed by the transmission management device, and is a list of destination identification information indicating the communication destination corresponding to the identification information. The storage unit in which the destination list is stored, the request destination identification information indicating the other information processing terminal to which the communication is requested, the participation authentication information indicating the participation qualification for the communication with the other information processing terminal, and the participation authentication information. Generates communication start request information including an input unit that accepts the input of, the request destination identification information, the participation authentication information, and a communication execution request with the information processing terminal, and transmits the communication start request information to the transmission management device. When the request destination identification information is the destination identification information, the transmission / reception unit transmits the first start request information with the transmission destination as the transmission management device to the transmission management device. Then, when the request destination identification information is not the destination identification information, the second start request information whose transmission destination is another information processing terminal indicated by the request destination identification information is transmitted to the transmission management device.

The operation of joining a session with restricted participation can be simplified.

It is the schematic of the transmission system which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which showed the state of transmission / reception of image data, sound data and various management information in a transmission system. It is an external view of an example of the terminal which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the hardware composition of the terminal which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the management apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the terminal and management apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. It is the first figure which shows the example of the information which the management apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment manages. It is a 2nd figure which shows the example of the information which the management apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment manages. It is a sequence diagram which shows the example of the process of the preparation stage which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen which displayed the destination list. It is a flowchart explaining the operation of the request source terminal of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the start request information. It is a 1st sequence diagram which shows the operation of the transmission system of 1st Embodiment. It is a 2nd sequence diagram which shows the operation of the transmission system of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining operation of the management apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation of the request destination terminal of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the input screen of identification information. It is a figure which shows an example of the input screen of participation authentication information. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which notifies the transmission to a management device. It is the first figure which shows an example of the screen which displayed the error message. FIG. 2 is a second diagram showing an example of a screen on which an error message is displayed. FIG. 3 is a third diagram showing an example of a screen on which an error message is displayed. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which notifies the connection to a request destination terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which notifies the incoming call from the request source terminal. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation of the transmission system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the operation of the request source terminal of the 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the functional structure of the terminal of the 3rd Embodiment. It is a 1st sequence diagram which shows the operation of the transmission system of 3rd Embodiment. It is a 2nd sequence diagram which shows the operation of the transmission system of 3rd Embodiment. It is a 3rd sequence diagram which shows the operation of the transmission system of 3rd Embodiment.

(First Embodiment)
The first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a transmission system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a state of transmission / reception of image data, sound data, and various management information in a transmission system.

The transmission system includes a data providing system that transmits content data in one direction from one information processing terminal to the other information processing terminal via a transmission management device. Further, the transmission system includes a communication system and the like for mutually transmitting information between a plurality of information processing terminals via a transmission management device.

This communication system is a system for mutually transmitting information between a plurality of communication terminals (corresponding to "information processing terminals") via a communication management device (corresponding to "transmission management device"). Examples of the communication system include remote conferencing such as a video conferencing system, a videophone system, a voice conference system, a voice telephone system, and a PC (Personal Computer) screen sharing system.

In the present embodiment, a video conferencing system as an example of a communication system, a video conferencing management device as an example of a communication management device, and a video conferencing terminal as an example of a communication terminal are assumed. The video conference is an example of a remote conference.

Hereinafter, the transmission system 1 will be described as a video conferencing system, the transmission management device 50 as a video conferencing management device, and the information processing terminal 10 as a video conferencing terminal. That is, the communication system according to the present embodiment is applied not only to a video conferencing system but also to a communication system, a transmission system, and the like.

The transmission system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of information processing terminals (10aa, 10ab, ...), Display (120aa, 120ab, ...) For each information processing terminal (10aa, 10ab, ...). The relay device 30, the transmission management device 50, and the program providing device 90 are included. The plurality of information processing terminals (10aa, 10ab, ...) transmit / receive (communicate) video data between the information processing terminals. The video data includes, for example, moving image data, still image data, sound data, and the like.

In the following description, the "information processing terminal" is simply referred to as a "terminal", and the "transmission management device" is simply referred to as a "management device". Further, any terminal among a plurality of terminals (10aa, 10ab, ...) Is referred to as "terminal 10". Further, any display among the plurality of displays (120aa, 120ab, ...) Is referred to as "display 120". Furthermore, the request source terminal requesting the start of communication is referred to as a "request source terminal", and the request destination terminal is referred to as a "request destination terminal". Further, in the following description, among the request destination terminals, the request destination terminal included in the destination list described later is referred to as a “destination terminal”. That is, the destination terminal is included in the request destination terminal.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the transmission system 1, a management information session sei for transmitting and receiving various management information is established between the request source terminal and the request destination terminal via the management device 50. Will be done. In addition, a communication session for transmitting and receiving high-resolution image data, medium-resolution image data, low-resolution image data, sound data, and the like is held between the request source terminal and the request destination terminal via the relay device 30. Established. Here, the communication session is shown as a session sed for image / sound data. The number of session seeds for image / sound data shown in FIG. 2 is an example, and the number of session seeds for image / sound data may be less than or larger than the number of four sessions.

Returning to FIG. 1, the description of the system configuration of the transmission system 1 will be continued.

The terminal 10 transmits and receives various information to and from another device (terminal). For example, the terminal 10 establishes a communication session with another terminal 10, and in the established communication session, communicates by transmitting and receiving content data including sound data, image data, and the like. As a result, in the transmission system 1, a video conference between a plurality of terminals 10 is realized.

Hereinafter, "image data and sound data" will be referred to as "content data". The content data transmitted between the terminals 10 is not limited to the present embodiment. As another example, the content data may be text data, and as another example, the content data may include text data in addition to sound data and image data. Further, the image data may be a moving image or a still image. Further, the image data may include both a moving image and a still image.

Further, in the transmission system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the video conference is started, the user who wants to start the video conference operates the predetermined terminal 10, and the operated terminal 10 manages the start request information by the management device 50. Send to.

Here, the start request information is information for requesting the start of a session used for a video conference, and includes information for designating a terminal 10 as a session partner.

The request destination terminal (session partner) may be one terminal 10 or two or more terminals 10. That is, in the transmission system 1, it is possible to realize a video conference using a session established not only between two terminals 10 but also between three or more terminals 10.

Further, in the transmission system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible for another user to participate in the video conference in which the session has already been established and started. When a user who wishes to participate operates a predetermined terminal 10, the operated terminal 10 refers to an established session (hereinafter referred to as an established session) used for a video conference desired to participate. The designated participation request information is transmitted to the management device 50. In the following description, the terminal 10 for transmitting the participation request information is referred to as a "participation request terminal".

The management device 50 centrally manages the terminal 10 and the relay device 30. The management device 50 realizes a video conference by communication between the terminals 10 by establishing a communication session between the terminals 10.

When the management device 50 receives the communication session start request information from the request source terminal, the management device 50 establishes a communication session between the request source terminal and the request destination terminal and starts a video conference. The management device 50 also causes the participation request terminal to participate in the establishing session when the participation request information for the session already established (hereinafter referred to as the establishing session) is received from the predetermined terminal 10.

Further, the plurality of routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d, 70ab, 70cd) shown in FIG. 1 select the optimum route of the content data. In the present embodiment, "router 70" is used when indicating an arbitrary router among routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d, 70ab, 70cd). The relay device 30 relays content data between a plurality of terminals 10.

The program providing device 90 includes an HD (Hard Disk) described later in which a terminal program for realizing various functions or various means is stored in the terminal 10, and the terminal program is transmitted to the terminal 10. Can be done.

Further, the HD of the program providing device 90 also stores a relay device program for realizing various functions or various means in the relay device 30, and the relay device program can be transmitted to the relay device 30. ..

Further, the HD of the program providing device 90 also stores a transmission management program for realizing various functions or various means in the management device 50, and the transmission management program can be transmitted to the management device 50. ..

Further, the terminals (10aa, 10ab, 10ac, ...), The relay device 30, and the router 70a are communicably connected by LAN2a. The terminals (10ba, 10bb, 10bc, ...), The relay device 30, and the router 70b are communicably connected by LAN2b. Further, LAN2a and LAN2b are communicably connected by a dedicated line 2ab including a router 70ab, and are constructed in a predetermined area A. For example, region A is Japan, LAN2a is built in the office in Tokyo, and LAN2b is built in the office in Osaka.

On the other hand, the terminals (10ca, 10cc, 10cc, ...), The relay device 30, and the router 70c are communicably connected by LAN2c. The terminals (10da, 10db, 10dc, ...), The relay device 30, and the router 70d are communicably connected by LAN2d. Further, LAN2c and LAN2d are communicably connected by a dedicated line 2cd including a router 70cd, and are constructed in a predetermined area B. For example, Region B is the United States, LAN2c is built in a New York office, and LAN2d is Washington D.C. C. It is built in the office of. Area A and area B are connected to each other from routers (70ab, 70cd) so as to be able to communicate with each other via the Internet 2i.

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

Further, the relay device 30 is communicably connected to the terminal 10 via the communication network 2. The relay device 30 is always in operation and is installed in an area other than these in order to be less affected by the amount of communication in the local area of the area A or the area B.

In the present embodiment, the communication network 2 is constructed by LAN2a, LAN2b, leased line 2ab, Internet 2i, leased line 2cd, LAN2c, and LAN2d. The communication network 2 may have a place where wireless communication is performed as well as wired communication.

Further, in the example shown in FIG. 1, the four sets of numbers shown under each terminal 10, the relay device 30, the management device 50, each router 70, and the program providing device 90 are IP addresses in general IPv4. Is briefly shown. For example, the IP address of the terminal 10aa is "1.2.1.3". Further, IPv6 may be used instead of IPv4, but for the sake of simplification of the description, IPv4 will be used.

Next, the hardware configuration of each device included in the transmission system 1 of the present embodiment will be described. First, the appearance of the terminal 10 and the hardware configuration will be described.

FIG. 3 is an external view of an example of the terminal according to the embodiment. Hereinafter, the longitudinal direction of the terminal 10 will be described as the X-axis direction, the direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction in the horizontal plane as the Y-axis direction, and the directions orthogonal to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (vertical direction) as the Z-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal 10 includes a housing 1101, an arm 1200, and a camera housing 1300. Of these, the front side wall surface 1110 of the housing 1101 is provided with an intake surface formed by a plurality of intake holes, and the rear side wall surface 1120 of the housing 1101 is provided with an exhaust surface on which a plurality of exhaust holes are formed. 1121 is provided.

As a result, by driving the cooling fan built in the housing 1101, the outside air in front of the terminal 10 can be taken in through the intake surface and exhausted to the rear of the terminal 10 through the exhaust surface 1121. A sound collecting hole 1131 is formed in the right wall surface 1130 of the housing 1101, and sounds such as voice, noise, and noise can be collected by a built-in microphone 114 described later.

An operation panel 1150 is formed on the right side wall surface 1130 side of the housing 1101. The operation panel 1150 is provided with a plurality of operation buttons (108a to 108e) described later, a power switch 109 described later, and an alarm lamp 119 described later. Further, the operation panel 1150 is formed with a sound output surface 1151 formed by a plurality of sound output holes for passing the output sound from the built-in speaker 115 described later. Further, on the left side wall surface 1140 side of the housing 1101, an accommodating portion 1160 is formed as a recess for accommodating the arm 1200 and the camera housing 1300. The right side wall surface 1130 of the housing 1101 is provided with a plurality of connection ports (1132a to 1132c) for electrically connecting a cable to the external device connection I / F 118 described later. On the other hand, the left wall surface 1140 of the housing 1101 is provided with a connection port for electrically connecting the cable 120c for the display 120 to the external device connection I / F 118 described later.

In the following, the "operation button 108" is used when indicating an arbitrary operation button among the operation buttons (108a to 108e), and "operation button 108" is used when indicating an arbitrary connection port among the connection ports (1132a to 1132c). This will be described with reference to the connection port 1132.

Next, the arm 1200 is attached to the housing 1101 via the torque hinge 1210, and the arm 1200 is configured to be rotatable in the vertical direction within a tilt angle θ1 of 135 degrees with respect to the housing 1101. ing. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the tilt angle θ1 is 90 degrees.

The camera housing 1300 is provided with a built-in camera 112, which will be described later, and can image users, documents, rooms, and the like. Further, a torque hinge 1310 is formed in the camera housing 1300. The camera housing 1300 is attached to the arm 1200 via a torque hinge 1310. The camera housing 1300 is attached to the arm 1200 via the torque hinge 1310, and the pan angle θ2 of ± 180 degrees with respect to the arm 1200 with the state shown in FIG. 3 as 0 degrees. It is configured to be rotatable in the vertical and horizontal directions within the range of ± 45 degrees and the tilt angle θ3.

As another example, the terminal 10 may be an information terminal such as a general-purpose computer, a tablet terminal, or a smart phone. If the information terminal used as the terminal 10 is not equipped with a microphone or a camera, an external microphone and a camera are connected to the computer. As a result, the information terminal can be used as the terminal 10 according to the present embodiment.

Further, when an information terminal is used as the terminal 10, an application for executing the processing of the terminal 10 described later is installed in the information terminal. Therefore, the terminal 10 is also referred to as an information processing terminal including the terminal shown in FIG. 3 and a general information terminal.

Since the relay device 30, the management device 50, the program providing device 90, and the maintenance system 100 each have the same appearance as that of a general server / computer, the description of the appearance will be omitted.

Next, the hardware configuration of the terminal 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal according to the embodiment.

The terminal 10 includes a general computer configuration, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, a flash memory 104, and an SSD (Solid State Drive). Has 105. Further, the terminal 10 includes a media drive 107, an operation button 108, a power switch 109, a network I / F (Interface) 111, a camera 112, an image sensor I / F 113, a microphone 114, a speaker 115, and an audio input / output I / F 116. Have. Further, the terminal 10 has a display I / F 117, an external device connection I / F 118, an alarm lamp 119, a bus 110, and the like.

The CPU 101 is an arithmetic unit that realizes each function of the terminal 10 by reading a program or data from a ROM 102, a flash memory 104, or the like and executing processing. The ROM 102 is, for example, a non-volatile memory in which a program or the like used for starting the CPU 101 such as an IPL (Initial Program Loader) is stored in advance. The RAM 103 is a volatile memory used as a work area or the like of the CPU 101.

The flash memory 104 is, for example, a storage device that stores an OS (Operating System), an application program, various data, and the like. The SSD 105 controls reading and writing of various data to the flash memory 104 according to the control of the CPU 101. The media drive 107 controls, for example, reading or writing (storage) of data to a recording medium 106 such as a memory card.

The operation button 108 is an input device that receives an input operation of the user of the terminal 10. The power switch 109 is a switch for switching the power on / off of the terminal 10. The network I / F 111 is a communication interface for communicating using the communication network 2.

The camera 112 is an imaging device for imaging a subject under the control of the CPU 101. The image sensor I / F 113 controls the image pickup by the camera 112 and converts the captured data into predetermined image data (video data). The microphone 114 converts the picked-up voice into an electric signal. The speaker 115 converts the voice signal into voice and outputs it. The voice input / output I / F 116 controls the voice input / output by the microphone 114 and the speaker 115.

The display I / F 117 transmits image data to the display 120 under the control of the CPU 101. The external device connection I / F 118 is an interface for connecting various external devices. The alarm lamp 119 is a light emitting device that notifies an abnormality of various functions of the terminal 10. The bus 110 is commonly connected to each of the above configurations and transmits an address signal, a data signal, various control signals, and the like.

The display 120 is a display unit composed of a liquid crystal or an organic EL for displaying an image of a subject, an operation icon, and the like. Further, the display 120 is connected to the display I / F 117 by the cable 120c.

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

An external camera, an external microphone, an external speaker, etc. are connected to the external device connection I / F 118 by using a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or the like inserted into the connection port 1132 of the housing 1101 shown in FIG. External devices can be electrically connected to each other.

When an external camera is connected, the external camera is driven in preference to the built-in camera 112 according to the control of the CPU 101. Similarly, when an external microphone is connected or an external speaker is connected, the external microphone and the external speaker are given priority over the built-in microphone 114 and the built-in speaker 115 according to the control of the CPU 101. The external speaker is driven.

The recording medium 106 has a structure that allows it to be attached to and detached from the terminal 10. Further, as long as it is a non-volatile memory that reads or writes data under 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 above-mentioned terminal program may be recorded and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium (recording medium 106 or the like) by a file in an installable format or an executable format. Further, the terminal program may be stored in the ROM 102 instead of the flash memory 104.

Next, the hardware configuration of the management device 50 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a hardware configuration diagram of the management device according to the embodiment.

The management device 50 has a general computer hardware configuration, and includes, for example, a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, an HD 204, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 205, a media drive 207, a display 208, and the like. The management device 50 also includes a network I / F 209, a keyboard 211, a mouse 212, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc) drive 214, a bus 210, and the like.

The CPU 201 is an arithmetic unit that realizes each function of the management device 50 by reading programs and data stored in, for example, ROM 202, HD 204, and the like and executing processing. The ROM 202 is, for example, a non-volatile memory in which a program or the like used for starting the CPU 201 such as an IPL is stored in advance. The RAM 203 is a volatile memory used as a work area or the like of the CPU 201.

The HD204 is, for example, a storage device that stores programs such as an OS and an application program, and various types of data. The HDD 205 controls reading or writing of various data to the HD 204 according to the control of the CPU 201. The display 208 is a display device that displays various information such as a cursor, a menu, a window, characters, or an image.

The network I / F 209 is a communication interface for performing data communication using the communication network 2. The keyboard 211 is an example of an input device for receiving input operations such as characters, numerical values, and various instructions by the user. The mouse 212 is an example of a pointing device that accepts operations such as selection and execution of various instructions by a user, selection of a processing target, and movement of a cursor.

The media drive 207 controls, for example, reading and writing (storage) of data to a recording medium 206 such as a memory card. The CD-ROM drive 214 controls reading or writing of data to various CD-ROMs 213 as an example of a removable recording medium. The bus 210 electrically connects each of the above components to transmit an address signal, a data signal, various control signals, and the like.

The hardware configuration of the management device 50 is just an example. For example, the display 208, the keyboard 211, the mouse 212, and the like may be externally attached to the outside of the management device 50.

Further, the program for the management device 50 is a file in an installable format or an executable format, and can be recorded and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or the CD-ROM 213. good. Further, the program for the management device 50 may be stored in the HD204, may be stored in the ROM 202 in advance, or the like.

Further, since the relay device 30 has the same hardware configuration as the management device 50, the description thereof will be omitted. However, a program for the relay device 30 for controlling the relay device 30 is recorded in the HD204. In this case as well, the program for the relay device is a file in an installable format or an executable format, and can be recorded and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or the CD-ROM 213. good.

Further, since the program providing device 90 has the same hardware configuration as the management device 50, the description thereof will be omitted. However, a program providing program for controlling the program providing device 90 is recorded in the HD204. In this case as well, the program providing program is a file in an installable format or an executable format, and can be recorded and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as the recording medium 206 or the CD-ROM 213. good.

As another example of the detachable recording medium, it is configured to be recorded and provided on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-R (Compact Disc Recordable), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or a Blu-ray disc. You may.

Next, the functions of the terminal 10 and the management device 50 included in the transmission system 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a functional configuration diagram of the terminal and the management device according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the terminal 10, the relay device 30, and the management device 50 are communicably connected to each other via the communication network 2. Since the program providing device 90 shown in FIG. 1 is not directly related to the communication according to the present embodiment, the drawing is omitted in FIG.

First, the function of the terminal 10 will be described.

The terminal 10 includes a transmission / reception unit 11, an operation input reception unit 12, a communication control unit 13, an imaging unit 14, a sound input unit 15, a sound output unit 16, a display control unit 17, a creation unit 18, a management unit 19, and a judgment unit 20. It has a determination unit 21, a storage / reading unit 22, a request generation unit 23, a response generation unit 24, and a type determination unit 25. Each of the above parts is a function realized by executing a terminal control program (information processing program) developed on the RAM 103 from the flash memory 104 by the CPU 101. Further, the terminal 10 has a storage unit 1000 composed of a RAM 103, a flash memory 104, and the like.

The transmission / reception unit 11 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 4 and a network I / F 111 shown in FIG. 4, and another terminal, device, or other terminal, device, or the like via the communication network 2. Sends and receives various data and information to and from the system. For example, the transmission / reception unit 11 functions as a reception unit that receives request destination terminal information indicating a terminal 10 to be a request destination terminal and state information indicating an operating state of the request destination terminal from the management device 50.

The transmission / reception unit 11 according to the present embodiment receives state information indicating the state of each terminal 10 (request destination terminal) that can be connected to the video conference by the management device 50 even before starting the video conference with the request destination terminal. To start. The state information not only represents the operating state of each terminal 10 whether it is online or offline, but may also represent the operating state such as whether it is possible to communicate online or is communicating online. Further, the state information may include a session ID or the like which is identification information for identifying a communication session in which each terminal 10 participates. Further, the state information may represent various states such as the cable 120c being disconnected from the terminal 10 at the terminal 10, the sound being output but the image is not output, or the sound not being output (MUTE). good.

The operation input receiving unit 12 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 4, an operation button 108 shown in FIG. 4, a power switch 109, and the like, and receives various inputs by the user. .. For example, when the user turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 4, the operation input receiving unit 12 shown in FIG. 6 receives the power on and controls the power to be turned on. Further, the operation input receiving unit 12 receives a request destination selection operation or the like on the request destination selection screen by, for example, pressing the operation button 108.

The communication control unit 13 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. For example, the communication control unit 13 automatically transmits the current IP address of the requesting terminal from the transmission / reception unit 11 to the management device 50 via the communication network 2 when the power is turned on. Further, the communication control unit 13 transmits the login request information indicating that the login is requested to the management device 50.

Further, when the user turns off the power switch 109 from the on state, the transmission / reception unit 11 transmits the state information to the effect that the power is turned off to the management device 50. After that, the operation input receiving unit 12 turns off the power. As a result, the management device 50 can grasp that the power of the terminal 10 has been turned from on to off.

In addition, the communication control unit 13 performs various communication controls such as establishment and disconnection of a communication session for transmitting and receiving content data to and from another terminal 10 via the relay device 30.

The image pickup unit 14 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 4, a camera 112 shown in FIG. 4, an image sensor I / F 113, or the like, and images a subject to obtain this image. The image data obtained in the above process is output.

The sound input unit 15 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 4 and an audio input / output I / F 116 shown in FIG. 4, and the user's voice is voiced by the microphone 114. After being converted into a signal, the sound data related to the audio signal is input.

The sound output unit 16 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 4 and an audio input / output I / F 116 shown in FIG. 4, and transmits an audio signal related to sound data to a speaker. Output and output sound from the speaker 115.

The display control unit 17 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 4 and a display I / F 117 shown in FIG. 4, and displays image data on the display 120. For example, the display control unit 17 causes a display unit such as a display 120 to display a destination list for selecting a communication destination.

The display control unit 17 according to the present embodiment cooperates with the creation unit 18, the management unit 19, the determination unit 20, and the like, which will be described later, to display the destination list on the display unit. For example, when the determination unit 20 determines that the communication with the communication destination has ended abnormally, the display control unit 17 determines the terminal with which the communication has been performed by using the information of the communication destination terminal managed by the management unit 19. The destination list 1002 created by the creation unit 18 is displayed on the display unit so as to be possible. The specific display control method of the destination list by the display control unit 17 will be described later.

The creation unit 18 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. The creation unit 18 uses the request destination terminal information and the status information received from the management device 50 by the transmission / reception unit 11 to display the identification information of the terminal included in the request destination terminal as a choice of communication destination. Create and update. That is, the destination terminal is a terminal among the request destination terminals that is selected as a communication destination option in the destination list.

Preferably, the destination list includes information on the destination terminal (for example, terminal name, destination name, etc.) and information indicating the operating state of the destination terminal (for example, an icon indicating the state of the destination terminal, etc.).

The management unit 19 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. The management unit 19 stores and manages information on another terminal 10 that communicates with the terminal 10 (for example, identification information for identifying the terminal) in the communication information 1001 of the storage unit 1000.

Preferably, the management unit 19 manages the identification information of another terminal that communicates with the terminal 10 with priority. As a result, even when the terminal 10 is communicating with a plurality of terminals, one terminal having a higher priority than the other terminals can be specified. In the following description, the terminal identification information is simply referred to as "identification information". The identification information includes a terminal ID for identifying a terminal, a user ID for identifying a user, and the like.

Preferably, the management unit 19 has one or more identification information that communicates with (or has performed) the terminal 10, information indicating the priority of each terminal, and the terminal 10 participates (or participates in). T) The session ID that identifies the remote conference session is managed in association with each other. As a result, it becomes possible to exclude terminals and the like participating in other sessions and identify one terminal having a higher priority than other terminals.

The determination unit 20 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 4, and when communication with another terminal 10 is terminated, determines whether the communication is normally terminated or abnormally terminated. ..

Preferably, when the communication is terminated by the operation of the user of the terminal 10, the determination unit 20 determines that the communication is terminated normally. Further, the determination unit 20 determines that the communication is abnormally terminated when the communication is terminated due to a factor different from the operation of the user of the terminal 10. Factors different from the user's operation include, for example, factors caused by the communication network 2, the communication destination terminal 10, the relay device 30, the router 70, the management device 50, and the like.

Further, as another example, when the communication is terminated, the determination unit 20 terminates the communication normally or abnormally based on the disconnection reason notified from the transmission / reception unit 11 or the communication control unit 13. It may be something that determines whether or not. For example, the determination unit 20 may determine that the disconnection reason notified from the communication control unit 13 (or the transmission / reception unit 11) is a normal disconnection (or there is no disconnection reason), and that the termination is normal. Further, the determination unit 20 determines that the disconnection is abnormally terminated when the disconnection reason notified from the communication control unit 13 (or the transmission / reception unit 11) includes a disconnection reason other than the normal disconnection (for example, communication quality deterioration, timer timeout, etc.). It may be something that does.

The determination unit 21 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. The determination unit 21 indicates that, for example, the communication request destination is selected in the destination list displayed by the display control unit 17 depending on whether the communication with another terminal has ended normally or abnormally. Determine the destination to display the display element. For example, when the communication with the other terminal 10 ends, the determination unit 21 sets the destination list to be displayed by the display control unit 17 depending on whether the communication with the other terminal ends normally or abnormally. , Decide which destination to focus on.

The focus means, for example, that a display element or the like is selected on an operation screen of a computer or the like and is in a state where input is possible. In the present embodiment, focusing means that the destination selected as the communication request destination in the destination list displayed by the display control unit 17 is determined by display elements such as a thick frame, a reverse display, and a cursor. Indicates that it can be displayed. In addition, "displaying in a distinguishable manner" means displaying the received identification information so that it can be seen that it is in the list. For example, not only the identification information itself is displayed in a discriminative manner but also in the "list It may be possible to distinguish by displaying a message such as "Yes".

Therefore, when the terminal 10 receives the transmission operation instructing the start of communication by the user, the terminal 10 starts the transmission process to the focused destination in the destination list. Note that focus is an example of a method of displaying so that it can be determined that one terminal is selected as a communication request destination in the destination list.

The storage / reading unit 22 is realized by a program executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 4 and an SSD 105 or the like shown in FIG. 4, and stores various data in the storage unit 1000 and is stored in the storage unit 1000. Performs processing such as reading various data.

The request generation unit 23 generates the session start request information of the terminal 10 and the participation request information for the session in response to the reception of the input by the operation input reception unit 12. More specifically, when the request generation unit 23 transmits a start request to the management device 50, the request generation unit 23 generates start request information in which the management device 50 is designated as the transmission destination. Further, when the request generation unit 23 transmits a start request to the request destination terminal, the request generation unit 23 generates start request information in which the request destination terminal is designated as the destination terminal. Details of the request generation unit 23 and the start request information will be described later.

The response generation unit 24 responds when it receives a start request, a participation request, or the like from another terminal 10. The type determination unit 25 determines whether or not the session type is restricted according to the request destination terminal, the start instruction information from the management device 50, and the like. Details of the processing of the response generation unit 24 and the type determination unit 25 will be described later.

The storage unit 1000 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the flash memory 104 and RAM 103 of FIG. 4 and the CPU 101 of FIG. 4, and stores information such as identification information and a password for identifying the terminal 10, for example. ..

The storage unit 1000 is also used as a reception buffer for image data and sound data received when a video conference is held with the request destination terminal.

Next, the function of the management device 50 will be described.

The management device 50 includes a transmission / reception unit 51, an authentication unit 52, a terminal management unit 53, a terminal extraction unit 54, a terminal status acquisition unit 55, a session management unit 56, a storage / reading unit 57, a destination list management unit 58, and a participation determination unit. 59, has a transmission destination determination unit 60. Each of these parts is a function realized by the CPU 201 executing a transmission management program developed from the HD 204 on the RAM 203. Further, the management device 50 has a storage unit 5000 composed of HD204 and the like.

Here, the information stored and managed by the management device 50 in the storage unit 5000 will be described. The storage unit 5000 stores an authentication management database 5002, a terminal management database 5003, a destination list management database 5004, and a session management database 5005. Each database stored in the storage unit 5000 of the present embodiment may be provided in the storage unit 5000 in advance.

FIG. 7 is a first diagram showing an example of information managed by the management device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing an example of an authentication management table, and FIG. 7B is a diagram showing an example of a destination list management table.

In the storage unit 5000, for example, an authentication management DB 5002 including an authentication management table 701 as shown in FIG. 7A is constructed. In the authentication management table 701, each password is associated and managed with respect to the identification information which is the identification information for identifying each terminal 10 managed by the management device 50. For example, the authentication management table 701 shown in FIG. 7A shows that the password corresponding to the identification information “01aa” is “aaaa”.

FIG. 7B shows an example of the destination list management table. In the storage unit 5000, for example, a destination list management DB 5004 including a destination list management table 702 as shown in FIG. 7B is constructed. In the destination list management table 702, the request source identification information, which is the identification information used by the request source terminal, and the destination identification information, which is the identification information used by the destination terminal, are managed in association with each other. Here, the requesting terminal is the terminal 10 that requests the request information used for the video conference to request the start of communication.

Further, the destination terminal is a request destination terminal in which the identification information is registered in the destination list management table 702 among the request destination terminals that the request source terminal can be the request destination of the request information.

For example, in the example of FIG. 7B, the request destination terminal capable of requesting the start of the video conference from the terminal 10 whose identification information is "01aa" has the identification information "01ab", "01ba", "01db". , "01dc", "01ca", "01cc" terminal 10. The request destination terminal is added or deleted, for example, according to a request made from the terminal 10 to the management device 50.

FIG. 8 is a second diagram showing an example of information managed by the management device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8A is a diagram showing an example of a terminal management table, and FIG. 8B is a diagram showing an example of a session management table. In the storage unit 5000, for example, a terminal management DB 5003 including a terminal management table 801 as shown in FIG. 8A is constructed.

In the terminal management table 801 for each identification information of each terminal 10, the name of the request destination terminal of each terminal 10 (hereinafter referred to as "terminal name"), the operating state of each terminal 10, the reception date and time, and the terminal 10 IP address and participation authentication information are associated and managed. The reception date and time is the date and time when the management device 50 receives the login request information for logging in to the transmission system 1.

For example, in the terminal management table 801 shown in FIG. 8A, the terminal name is "Japan Tokyo Office AA terminal" and the operating state is "online (communication in progress)" with respect to the terminal 10 whose identification information is "01aa". ) ”, The date and time when the login request information was received by the management device 50 is“ 13:40 on November 10, 20xx ”, and the IP address of the terminal 10 is“ 1.2.1.3 ”. Represents.

Here, the identification information of the terminal management table 801 is uniquely assigned when the terminal 10 is registered in the transmission system 1, and the terminal name is registered or changed by the administrator of the management device 50. The terminal name may be registered or changed in response to a request made from the terminal 10 to the management device 50.

Further, the operating state "online (communicable)" means that the terminal 10 is logged in to the transmission system 1 and is not participating in the video conference. “Online (during communication)” means that the terminal 10 is logged in to the transmission system 1 and is participating in a video conference. When the sound data state is "offline", it means that the terminal 10 is not logged in to the transmission system 1.

Participation authentication information is information for authenticating participation in a session with participation restrictions. In other words, the participation authentication information is information indicating eligibility to participate in a session with participation restrictions. In the present embodiment, the participation authentication information uses an alphabet, a number, a symbol, a PIN code that combines numbers, and the like. However, the participation authentication information is not limited to this, and may be in other forms.

The session management DB 5005 stored in the storage unit 5000 of the management device 50 includes, for example, the session management table 802 as shown in FIG. 8B. In the session management table 802, information such as the relay device ID, the request source identification information, the request destination identification information, and the participation identification information, which are the identification information for identifying the relay device 30, is displayed for each session ID which is the identification information of the communication session. Is remembered.

The request source identification information is the identification information of the request source terminal requesting the start of a communication session such as a video conference, and the request destination identification information is the identification information used by the request destination terminal. Further, the participation identification information is identification information used by one or more participation request terminals requesting participation in a communication session (establishing session) such as a video conference being held.

In the present embodiment, the request destination identification information includes both the destination identification information registered in the destination list management table 702 and the request destination identification information not registered in the destination list management table 702.

For example, in the session management table 802 shown in FIG. 8B, the session with the session ID “se1” includes a terminal with the identification information “01aa”, a terminal with the identification information “01db”, and the identification information “01db”. It is shown that the terminal of is participating.

Here, returning to FIG. 6, the description of the functional configuration of the management device 50 will be continued.

The transmission / reception unit 51 is realized by, for example, the network I / F 209 of FIG. 5 and a program executed by the CPU 201 of FIG. 5, and various data and information with other terminals 10 or devices 30 and 90 via the communication network 2. Send and receive.

The transmission / reception unit 51 refers to the request source terminal with a list of destination identification information corresponding to the request source identification information (hereinafter referred to as destination list information) and each terminal using the destination identification information included in the destination list information. The status information indicating the operating status and the status information are transmitted. Further, the transmission / reception unit 51 transmits the latest state information to the request source terminal each time the operating state of the terminal as the request destination terminal is changed.

The authentication unit 52 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 201 of FIG. The authentication unit 52 searches the authentication management table 701 included in the authentication management DB 5002 of the storage unit 5000 using the identification information and the password included in the login request information received via the transmission / reception unit 51 as search keys. Further, the authentication unit 52 authenticates the terminal 10 by determining whether the identification information and the password included in the login request information are managed in the authentication management DB 5002.

The terminal management unit 53 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 201 of FIG. The terminal management unit 53 manages the operating state of the requesting terminal that has requested the login. For example, the terminal management unit 53 associates the request source identification information of the request source terminal with the operating state, the reception date and time when the login request information is received by the management device 50, and the IP address, and manages the terminal included in the terminal management DB 5003. It is stored in the table 801 and managed.

Further, the terminal management unit 53, for example, when the user turns off the state of the power switch 109 of the terminal 10, the terminal manages the terminal based on the state information sent from the terminal 10 to turn off the power. The operating state of the terminal 10 in the management table 801 is changed from online to offline.

The terminal extraction unit 54 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 201 of FIG. The terminal extraction unit 54 searches the destination list management table 702 included in the destination list management DB 5004 using the request source identification information of the request source terminal for which login is requested as a search key, and extracts the destination identification information for the request source identification information.

Further, the terminal extraction unit 54 searches the destination list management table 702 using the request source identification information of the request source terminal that has made the login request as a search key, and registers the request source identification information as the destination identification information. The request source identification information of the source terminal is also extracted.

The terminal state acquisition unit 55 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 201 of FIG. The terminal state acquisition unit 55 searches the terminal management table 801 included in the terminal management DB 5003 using the destination identification information extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 as a search key, and detects the detected destination for each of the detected destination identification information. Read the operating status of the terminal using the identification information. In other words, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 reads out the operating state associated with the identification information that matches the destination identification information extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54 in the terminal management table 801.

As a result, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 can acquire the operating state of the terminal that is the request destination terminal for the request source terminal that has requested the login. In addition, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 searches the terminal management DB 5003 using the request source identification information of the request source terminal that has requested the login as a search key, and also acquires the operating state of the request source terminal that has requested the login.

The session management unit 56 manages, for example, a communication session realized by a program executed by the CPU 201 of FIG. 5 and in which a video conference (an example of a remote conference) held by the management device 50 is held. For example, the session management unit 56 generates a session ID, which is identification information for identifying a communication session, when starting a communication session. Further, the session management unit 56 records information such as the identification information of the terminal 10 participating in the communication session and the relay device ID of the relay device 30 in association with the generated session ID in the session management table 802 included in the session management DB 5005. Remember and manage.

The storage / reading unit 57 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the HDD 205 of FIG. 5 and the CPU 201 of FIG. 5, stores various data for the storage unit 5000, and reads various data stored in the storage unit 5000. And so on.

The destination list management unit 58 is a means for storing and managing the destination list management table 702 as shown in FIG. 7B described above in the destination list management DB 5004, and is executed by, for example, the CPU 201 of FIG. Realized by the program. The destination list management unit 58 manages a destination list management table (destination list) 702 that stores information (destination identification information) of one or more terminals 10 as a destination of a conference (communication session) for each request source identification information. ..

When the transmission / reception unit 51 receives a participation request for the establishing session from a predetermined terminal, the participation determination unit 59 refers to the participation authentication information corresponding to the establishing session, and is the terminal of the transmission source of the participation request information. Judge whether or not the participation request terminal can participate in the session being established. The identification information used by the participation request terminal is the participation request identification information.

More specifically, when the participation request information is a request for participation in an established session established by the start request information specified as having participation restriction, the participation determination unit 59 makes a session start request. The participation authentication information received from the start request terminal and the participation authentication information received from the participation request terminal are compared. Then, the participation determination unit 59 permits participation in the session during establishment of the participation request terminal or requests the participation authentication information from the participation request terminal based on the comparison. That is, the participation determination unit 59 permits the participation request terminal to participate in the establishing session when both the participation authentication information received from the start request terminal and the participation authentication information received from the participation request terminal match. Further, even when the participation request information is a request for participation in the established session established by the specified start request information with no participation restriction, the participation determination unit 59 can perform the participation request terminal in the establishing session. Allow participation.

Further, if the participation authentication information received from the start request terminal and the participation authentication information received from the participation request terminal do not match, the participation determination unit 59 does not immediately refuse to participate in the session during establishment of the participation request terminal. In addition, the participation request terminal is requested to re-enter the participation authentication information. Then, the participation determination unit 59 establishes the participation request terminal when the number of mismatches in which the participation authentication information received from the start request terminal and the participation authentication information received from the participation request terminal do not match reaches a predetermined upper limit value. Refuse to participate in the middle session.

The destination determination unit 60 determines whether or not to transfer the start request information to the request destination terminal based on the start request information and the like transmitted from the terminal 10.

Next, the relay device 30 will be described.

The relay device 30 relays the transmission and reception of content data between terminals in a video conference held between a plurality of terminals. For example, the relay device 30 causes terminals 10 having the same session ID to participate in the same session based on the session ID notified from the management device 50. As a result, content data can be transmitted and received between the terminals 10 having the same session ID via the relay device 30.

Subsequently, the flow of communication processing by the transmission system (communication system) 1 will be described.

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing in the preparatory stage according to the embodiment. This process shows an example of the process in the preparatory stage until the terminal 10aa is ready to participate in the video conference in the transmission system 1.

In addition, in FIG. 9, it is assumed that each information is transmitted and received by using, for example, the management information session sea described in FIG. Further, in FIG. 9, the following description will be made assuming that the identification information of the terminal 10aa is "01aa", the identification information of the terminal 10ba is "01ba", and the identification information of the terminal 10db is "01db".

In the terminal 10aa, when the user of the terminal 10aa turns on the power switch 109 of the terminal 10aa, the operation input receiving unit 12 accepts the power on and controls the power of the terminal 10aa to be turned on (step S21).

Next, the communication control unit 13 of the terminal 10aa transmits login request information requesting login from the transmission / reception unit 11 of the terminal 10aa to the management device 50 via the communication network 2 when the power is turned on (step S22). ). This login request information includes request source identification information and a password for identifying the login request source terminal 10aa. The request source identification information and the password are read from the storage unit 1000 via the storage / reading unit 22.

When the login request information transmitted from the terminal 10aa is received by the management device 50, the management device 50 can grasp the IP address of the terminal 10aa on the transmitting side.

Next, the authentication unit 52 of the management device 50 performs terminal authentication using the identification information and the password included in the login request information received via the transmission / reception unit 51 as search keys (step S23). The authentication unit 52 searches the authentication management table 701 included in the authentication management DB 5002 of the storage unit 5000, and determines whether the same identification information and password as the search key are managed in the authentication management DB 5002 to perform terminal authentication. ..

Here, when it is determined that the same identification information and password as the search key are not managed, it is assumed that the authentication unit 52 is determined not to be a login request from the terminal 10 having the proper usage authority. At this time, the transmission / reception unit 51 transmits the authentication result information representing the authentication result obtained by the authentication unit 52 to the terminal 10aa that has requested the login via the communication network 2, and the operation in the preparation stage ends.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the same identification information and password as the search key are managed, the authentication unit 52 is determined to be a login request from the terminal 10 having the proper usage authority. At this time, the terminal management unit 53 stores the identification information of the terminal 10aa, the IP address of the terminal 10aa, the operating state, the reception date and time, and the like in association with the terminal management table 801 included in the terminal management DB 5003 (step S24).

As a result, the terminal management table 801 has the identification information "01aa", the IP address "1.2.1.3" of the terminal 10aa, the operating state "online (during communication)", the reception date and time "20xx.11.10 13:". 40 (year / month / day time) ”can be associated and managed. The terminal management table 801 is associated with identification information, an IP address, and the like in advance, and the operating state, reception date and time, and participants may be associated each time.

Next, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management device 50 transmits the authentication result information representing the authentication result obtained by the authentication unit 52 to the terminal 10aa that has requested the login via the communication network 2 (step S25).

Next, the terminal extraction unit 54 of the management device 50 searches the destination list management table 702 included in the destination list management DB 5004 using the identification information "01aa" of the terminal 10aa as a search key, and the destination identification information corresponding to the terminal 10aa. Is extracted (step S26).

Here, the identification information "01ab", "01ba", "01db", "01ab" of the terminals 10ab, 10ba, 10db, 10dc, 10ca, and 10cc using the destination identification information corresponding to the identification information "01aa" of the terminal 10aa, respectively. "01dc", "01ca", and "01cc" are extracted.

Subsequently, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 of the management device 50 searches for the destination identification information “01ab”, “01ba”, “01db”, “01dc”, “01ca”, “01cc” extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54. Using the key, the terminal status acquisition unit 55 searches the terminal management table 801 included in the terminal management DB 5003 using the search key (step S27). Then, the terminal state acquisition unit 55 reads out the corresponding operating states "offline", "online (communicable)", and "online (during communication)" for each destination identification information extracted by the terminal extraction unit 54. As a result, the operating states of the terminals 10ab, 10ba, 10db, 10dc, 10ca, and 10cc can be acquired. The terminal state acquisition unit 55 monitors the terminal management DB 5003 and acquires each operating state each time the operating state of the terminal changes.

Next, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management device 50 transmits the destination status information to the terminal 10aa via the communication network 2 (step S28). The destination status information includes, for example, the destination identification information "01ab", "01ba", "01db", "01dc", "01ca", "01cc" as the search key used in step S27, and each destination identification information. Includes status information and the like indicating the operating status corresponding to.

As a result, the terminal 10aa can grasp the current operating states "offline", "online (communicable)", and "online (during communication)" of the destination terminals 10ab, 10ba, 10db, 10dc, 10ca, and 10cc, respectively. Can be done.

Next, the terminal extraction unit 54 of the management device 50 uses the identification information "01aa" of the terminal 10aa that has requested the login as a search key, and the terminal extraction unit 54 uses the search key to include the destination list included in the destination list management DB 5004. The management table 702 is searched (step S29). Then, the terminal extraction unit 54 extracts the request source identification information of another terminal in which the identification information "01aa" of the terminal 10aa is registered as the destination identification information. For example, in the destination list management table shown in FIG. 7B, the requested source identification information to be extracted is “01ab”, “01ba”, and “01db”.

Subsequently, the terminal management unit 53 of the management device 50 uses the identification information "01aa" of the terminal 10aa that has requested login as a search key, and the terminal management unit 53 uses the search key to include the terminal management table included in the terminal management DB 5003. Search for 801 (step S30). Then, the terminal management unit 53 acquires the operating state "online (communication possible)" of the terminal 10aa that has requested the login.

Next, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management device 50 has the identification information whose operating state is online in, for example, the terminal management table 801 shown in FIG. 8A among the request source identification information extracted in step S29. To identify. Further, the transmission / reception unit 51 informs the terminal 10 (for example, terminal 10ba, terminal 10db) corresponding to the specified identification information with the identification information of the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) and the operating state "online (communication possible)". The state information including the above is transmitted (steps S31-1, 31-2).

When transmitting the state information to the terminals 10ba and 10db, the transmission / reception unit 51 refers to the IP address of each terminal managed in the terminal management table 801 based on the identification information "01ba" and "01db". ..

As a result, the identification information "01aa" and the operating state "online (during communication)" of the terminal 10aa that has requested the login can be transmitted to the terminals 10db and 10ba. The terminals 10db and 10ba can transmit by designating the terminal 10aa that has requested the login as the destination terminal.

Further, in the terminal 10aa of the present embodiment, when the step S28 is completed, the destination list 1002 is created by the creation unit 18 and stored in the storage unit 1000.

The destination list 1002 includes identification information, the terminal name of the terminal using the identification information, and the operating state of the terminal as information items, and the terminal name and the operating state are associated with each identification information. It is held in the storage unit 1000.

The created destination list is displayed on the display 120 by, for example, the display control unit 17 of the terminal 10aa. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a destination list is displayed.

In the destination list 1002 displayed on the screen 1100 shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of selection buttons 1311 for selecting a destination terminal are displayed. Further, each selection button 1311 includes icons 1312a to 1312c reflecting the state information, destination identification information 1313, terminal name 1314, and the like.

Examples of the icon include a communicable icon 1312a indicating that online communication is possible, a communicating icon 1312b indicating that online communication is in progress, and an offline icon 1312c indicating that offline communication is not possible.

When the operating state of the destination terminal is "online (communicable)", the creation unit 18 assigns the communicable icon 1312a to the destination terminal. Further, when the operating state of the destination terminal is "online (communication)", the creation unit 18 assigns the communication icon 1312b to the destination terminal. Further, when the operating state of the destination terminal is "offline", the creation unit 18 assigns the offline icon 1312c to the destination terminal.

Here, in the present application, the process in which the user of the terminal 10aa selects a desired destination terminal from the destination terminals included in the destination list 1002 will be considered.

In this process, the user of the terminal 10aa needs to search for a desired destination terminal while reading the destination list 1002. In such a case, as the number of destination terminals included in the destination list 1002 increases, time and effort are required to find a desired destination terminal. It is also possible that the desired request destination terminal is not included in the destination list 1002.

Furthermore, when holding a conference restricted by participants, after finding a desired destination terminal from the destination list 1002, information indicating eligibility to participate in the conference with participation restrictions is transmitted. The operation becomes more complicated.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the requesting source terminal accepts the input of the requesting destination identification information and the participation authentication information for the conference in which the participation restriction is provided, and transmits this to the management device 50, and the requesting source terminal receives the requesting destination. It is assumed that a response according to the state of the terminal using the identification information is obtained. In the present embodiment, this simplifies the operation of participating in a session (meeting) in which participation is restricted.

The operation of the terminal 10 of the present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the terminal of the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 shows the operation of the terminal 10 when the request destination identification information and the participation authentication information are input to the terminal 10 and a new session with participation restrictions is started. In other words, FIG. 11 shows the operation of the terminal 10 when the user of the terminal 10 starts a conference with participation restrictions.

The session (meeting) with participation restriction in the present embodiment is a session (meeting) in which only the terminal 10 in which the participation authentication information is input can participate. In other words, a session with participation restrictions is a session in which participation authentication information is required to be entered as a participation qualification. In the following description of the embodiment, the participation authentication information will be described as a PIN code.

The terminal 10 of the present embodiment receives the input of the request destination identification information and the PIN code by the operation input receiving unit 12 (step S1101).

Subsequently, the terminal 10 determines whether or not the input request destination identification information is the identification information of the own machine by the request generation unit 23 (step S1102). If the input request destination identification information is the identification information of the own machine in step S1102, the terminal 10 proceeds to step S1108 described later.

If the input request destination identification information is not the identification information of the own machine in step S1102, the request generation unit 23 determines whether or not the input request destination identification information exists in the destination list created by the creation unit 18. Is determined (step S1103). If the corresponding request destination identification information does not exist in the destination list in step S1103, the request generation unit 23 proceeds to step S1109 described later.

In step S1103, when the corresponding request destination identification information exists in the destination list, the request generation unit 23 refers to the destination list and whether the operating state corresponding to the corresponding request destination identification information (identification information) is offline. It is determined whether or not (step S1104).

When offline in step S1104, the request generation unit 23 proceeds to step S1113 described later.

In step S1104, when not offline, that is, when online, the request generation unit 23 determines whether or not the operating state corresponding to the corresponding request destination identification information is in communication (step S1105). In other words, the request generation unit 23 determines whether or not the corresponding request destination terminal is in a meeting.

If communication is in progress in step S1105, the request generation unit 23 proceeds to step S1115, which will be described later.

In step S1105, when communication is not in progress, the request generation unit 23 generates start request information (first start request information) with the transmission destination as the management device 50 and transmits it to the management device 50 (step S1106). Subsequently, the terminal 10 causes the display control unit 17 to display a dialog box indicating that the transmission is in progress on the display 120 (step S1107), and ends the process.

In step S1102, when the input request destination identification information is the identification information of the own machine, the terminal 10 includes a dialog including an error message indicating that the identification information of the own machine has been input by the display control unit 17. The box is displayed on the display 120 (step S1108), and the process ends.

In step S1103, when the input request destination identification information does not exist in the destination list, the request generation unit 23 notifies the management device 50 of the input request destination identification information, and requests corresponding to the terminal management database 5003. Acquire the determination result of whether or not the destination identification information exists (step S1109).

In step S1109, when the corresponding request destination identification information does not exist in the terminal management database 5003, the display control unit 17 causes the display 120 to display a dialog box including an error message indicating that the identification information does not exist on the system. (Step S1110), the process ends.

In step S1109, when the corresponding request destination identification information exists in the terminal management database 5003, the request generation unit 23 generates and manages start request information (second start request information) with the destination as the request destination terminal. It is transmitted to the device 50 (step S1111). Subsequently, the terminal 10 causes the display control unit 17 to display a dialog box indicating that it is connected to the designated request destination terminal on the display 120 (step S1112), and ends the process.

In step S1104, when the operating state corresponding to the input request destination identification information is offline, the terminal 10 displays a dialog box on the display 120 indicating that the request destination terminal is offline by the display control unit 17. It is displayed (step S1113), and the process ends.

In step S1105, when the operating state corresponding to the input request destination identification information is communicating, the terminal 10 uses the request generation unit 23 to set the start request information (first start) to the management device 50 by the request generation unit 23. The request information) is generated and transmitted to the management device 50 (step S1114). Subsequently, the terminal 10 causes the display control unit 17 to display the conference preparation screen on the display 120 (step S1115), and ends the process.

Here, the start request information generated by the request generation unit 23 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating start request information. FIG. 12 (A) shows an example of the first start request information with the destination as the management device 50, and FIG. 12 (B) shows an example of the second start request information with the destination as the request destination terminal. Shown.

The start request information 121 shown in FIG. 12A includes a destination 121-1, a message 121-2, and participation authentication information 121-3.

The destination 121-1 is, for example, the IP address of the management device 50. The transmission destination 121-1 does not have to be the IP address of the management device 50, and may be any information for identifying the management device 50.

Message 121-2 includes request source identification information, a call control execution request to the destination terminal, and destination identification information. In other words, message 121-2 is a request for the destination terminal to execute communication with the requesting terminal. Participation authentication information 121-3 is, for example, an input PIN code.

The start request information 122 shown in FIG. 12B includes a destination 122-1, a message 122-2, and participation authentication information 122-3.

The destination 122-1 is the request destination identification information input in the terminal 10 which is the request source terminal. The transmission destination 122-1 does not have to be the request destination identification information, and may be any information for identifying the terminal using the request destination identification information.

The message 122-2 includes request source identification information, a call control execution request to the request destination terminal, and request destination identification information. In other words, message 122-2 is a request for the request destination terminal to execute communication with the request source terminal. Participation authentication information 122-3 is, for example, an input PIN code.

In the present embodiment, the management device 50 that has received the start request information transmits a message and participation authentication information to the device specified as the transmission destination in the start request information.

For example, in the start request information 121, the transmission destination 121-1 specifies the own machine (management device 50). Therefore, the management device 50 determines that the destination of the message 121-2 and the participation authentication information 121-3 included in the start request information 121 is the own machine by the transmission destination determination unit 60, and the management device 50 determines that the destination of the message is the own machine. Make an interpretation.

Further, in the start request information 122, the transmission destination 122-1 specifies the request destination terminal. Therefore, the management device 50 determines that the transmission destination of the message 122-2 and the participation authentication information 122-3 included in the start request information 122 is the request destination terminal by the transmission destination determination unit 60. Then, the management device 50 transfers the message 122-2 and the participation authentication information 122-3 to the request destination terminal.

As described above, in the terminal 10 of the present embodiment, the input request destination identification information and the participation authentication information can be used as one start request information. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the operation of participating in a session in which participation is restricted can be performed only by inputting identification information and a PIN code to give a transmission instruction.

Further, in the present embodiment, the destination of the message including the call control execution request can be determined according to the presence / absence of the request destination identification information in the destination list. More specifically, the start request information of the present embodiment functions as a message transfer request to the request destination terminal indicated by the destination when the request destination identification information does not exist in the destination list.

The start request information generated by the terminal 10 is not limited to the example of FIG. The start request information may include information other than the information shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the transmission system 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG. 13 is a first sequence diagram showing the operation of the transmission system of the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows the operation of the transmission system 1 when the identification information input in the terminal 10 exists in the destination list.

Further, FIG. 13 shows an operation when the terminal 10aa requests the terminal 10db to start communication such as a video conference and communicates content data (image data, sound data, etc.). In FIG. 13, various management information is transmitted and received between each terminal 10 and the management device 50 by the management information session sei shown in FIG.

The terminal 10aa receives an input operation of the identification information (request destination identification information) of the request destination terminal (terminal 10db) and the participation authentication information (PIN code) by the user by the operation input reception unit 12 (step S1301).

Subsequently, the terminal 10aa generates start request information by the request generation unit 23 and transmits it to the management device 50 (step S1302). Here, since the identification information of the terminal 10db exists in the destination list 1002, the request generation unit 23 generates and transmits the start request information 121 whose transmission destination is the management device 50.

When the management device 50 receives the start request information, the transmission destination determination unit 60 determines whether or not the transmission destination included in the start request information is its own device (step S1303). Here, since the destination included in the start request information is the management device 50, the management device 50 interprets the message included in the start request information.

Subsequently, the management device 50 updates the terminal management table 801 included in the terminal management DB 5003 by the terminal management unit 53 based on the request source identification information included in the start request information (step S1304). For example, the terminal management unit 53 changes the operating state information corresponding to the identification information "01aa" (requester identification information) of the terminal 10aa to "online (during communication)" and updates the reception date and time information.

Subsequently, the management device 50 transmits the start request information requesting the start of the session to the terminal 10db, which is the destination terminal, by the session management unit 56 (step S1305). The start request information includes, for example, request source identification information of terminal 10aa, which is a request source terminal, participation authentication information, and the like.

The terminal 10db that has received the start request information from the management device 50 receives, for example, a response operation by the user of the terminal 10db (step S1306), generates reception completion information by the response generation unit 24, and transmits the reception completion information to the management device 50 (. Step S1307).

The reception completion information includes, for example, destination identification information which is identification information of the terminal 10db. The reception completion information may be automatically transmitted by the terminal 10db or the like.

Subsequently, when the management device 50 receives the reception completion information from the terminal 10db, the terminal management unit 53 sets the terminal management table 801 included in the terminal management DB 5003 based on the identification information of the terminal 10db included in the reception completion information. Update (step S1308). For example, the terminal management unit 53 changes the operating state information corresponding to the identification information "01db" of the terminal 10db to "online (during communication)" and updates the reception date and time information.

Next, the management device 50 creates a session ID, which is identification information for identifying the communication session, by the session management unit 56. Further, the session management unit 56 stores the relay device ID, the request source identification information, and the destination identification information of the relay device 30 in the session management table 802 included in the session management DB 5005 in association with the created session ID. (Step S1309).

Subsequently, the management device 50 transmits the relay start request information requesting the start of the relay of the communication session to the relay device 30 by the session management unit 56 (step S1310). The relay start request information includes, for example, the session ID created in step S1309, the IP address of the request source terminal, the IP address of the destination terminal, and the like.

Next, the management device 50 transmits start instruction information instructing the start of the session to the terminals 10aa and 10db by the session management unit 56 (steps S1311, 1312). The start instruction information includes, for example, the session ID created in step S1309, the IP address of the relay device 30, a private flag, and the like.

The private flag is information indicating that the session indicated by the session ID created in step S1309 is a session with participation restriction. Therefore, in steps S1311, 1312, the terminals 10aa and 10db have received the session start instruction information with the participation restriction.

Next, the terminal 10aa establishes a communication session (session sed) with the relay device 30 by the communication control unit 13 using the start instruction information received from the management device 50 (step S1313).

Similarly, the terminal 10db establishes a communication session (session sed) with the relay device 30 by the communication control unit 13 using the start instruction information received from the management device 50 (step S1314).

By the above processing, the terminals 10aa and 10db can participate in the same communication session and transmit the content data to each other via the relay device 30, that is, can hold a video conference. ..

Next, the management device 50 transmits the terminal state change information notifying that the state of the terminal 10 has been changed by the terminal management unit 53 to each terminal 10 registered in the terminal management DB 5003 (step S1315, step S1315, 1316). In the example of FIG. 13, the terminal state change information includes identification information of the terminals 10aa and 10db whose terminal state has been changed, state information indicating the operating state of the terminals 10aa and 10db, and the like. The state information may include a session ID or the like of a session in which each terminal 10 participates.

FIG. 14 is a second sequence diagram showing the operation of the transmission system of the first embodiment. FIG. 14 shows the operation of the transmission system 1 when the identification information input in the terminal 10aa does not exist in the destination list.

Further, FIG. 14 shows an operation when the terminal 10aa requests the terminal 10db to start communication such as a video conference and communicates content data (image data, sound data, etc.).

The terminal 10aa receives an input operation of the identification information (request destination identification information) of the request destination terminal (terminal 10db) and the participation authentication information (PIN code) by the user by the operation input reception unit 12 (step S1401).

Subsequently, the terminal 10aa generates start request information by the request generation unit 23 and transmits it to the management device 50 (step S1402). Here, since the identification information of the terminal 10db does not exist in the destination list 1002, the request generation unit 23 generates and transmits the start request information 122 whose transmission destination is the terminal 10db.

When the management device 50 receives the start request information, the transmission destination determination unit 60 determines whether or not the transmission destination included in the start request information is its own device (step S1403). Here, since the transmission destination included in the start request information is the identification information of the terminal 10db, the management device 50 transfers the start request information to the terminal 10db (step S1404).

Further, the management device 50 holds the PIN code included in the start request information at this time as the participation authentication information associated with the identification information (request source identification information) of the terminal 10aa in the terminal management table 801.

The terminal 10db that has received the start request information receives, for example, a response operation by the user of the terminal 10db (step S1405), generates reception completion information by the response generation unit 24, and transmits the reception completion information to the management device 50 (step S1406).

The reception completion information includes, for example, request destination identification information which is identification information of the terminal 10db. The reception completion information may be automatically transmitted by the terminal 10db or the like.

When the management device 50 receives the reception completion information, it transfers the reception completion information to the terminal 10aa (step S1407). The reception completion information does not have to go through the management device 50, and may be directly transmitted to the terminal 10aa.

Subsequently, the terminal 10db generates the conference (session) participation request information by the request generation unit 23 and transmits it to the management device 50 (step S1408). The conference participation request information includes the IP address of the terminal 10db which is the request destination terminal and the PIN code included in the start request information received in step S1404. At this time, the management device 50 holds the PIN code included in the conference participation request information at this time as the participation authentication information associated with the identification information of the terminal 10db in the terminal management table 801.

When the management device 50 receives the conference start request information, the session management unit 56 creates a session ID which is identification information for identifying the communication session (step S1409). Subsequently, the management device 50 transmits the relay start request information requesting the start of the relay of the communication session to the relay device 30 by the session management unit 56 (step S1410). The relay start request information includes, for example, the session ID created in step S1409 and the IP address of the terminal 10db which is the request destination terminal.

When the relay device 30 receives the relay start request information, the relay device 30 transmits the start instruction information to the management device 50 (step S1411). The start instruction information includes, for example, a session ID and an IP address of the relay device 30.

The management device 50 receives the start instruction information from the relay device 30 and transmits the start instruction information to the terminal 10db which is the request destination terminal (step S1412). This start instruction information includes, for example, the session ID and the IP address of the relay device 30, as well as the IP address of the terminal 10b which is the request destination terminal.

When the terminal 10db receives the start instruction information, the request generation unit 23 generates the conference preparation completion information and transmits it to the management device 50 (step S1413).

The meeting preparation completion information of the present embodiment is information indicating that the preparation for participating in the session is completed, and can be said to be session preparation completion information. The conference preparation completion information includes the identification information of the terminal 10aa which is the request source terminal, the identification information of the terminal 10db which is the request destination terminal, and the session ID. Further, the conference preparation completion information includes a private flag indicating that the session indicated by the session ID has participation restrictions.

When the management device 50 receives the conference preparation completion information, it transfers the conference preparation completion information to the terminal 10aa to which the conference preparation completion information is transmitted (step S1414).

When the terminal 10aa receives the conference preparation completion information, the type determination unit 25 determines whether or not the conference for which participation preparation is completed at the request destination terminal is a session with participation restriction (step S1415).

Specifically, the terminal 10aa determines whether or not the private flag is given to the conference preparation completion information by the type determination unit 25. In the example of FIG. 14, since the private flag is given to the conference preparation completion information, it is determined that the request destination terminal is ready to participate in the session with participation restriction.

Subsequently, the terminal 10aa generates the conference participation request information by the request generation unit 23 and transmits it to the management device 50 (step S1416). The conference participation request information includes a session ID, an IP address of the terminal 10aa which is the requesting terminal, and a PIN code.

The management device 50 receives the conference participation request information, and the session management unit 56 transmits the relay start request information requesting the start of the relay of the communication session to the relay device 30 (step S1417). The relay start request information includes, for example, a session ID and an IP address of the terminal 10aa which is the request source terminal.

Subsequently, the terminal 10aa and the terminal 10db establish a communication session (session sed) with the relay device 30 by their respective communication control units 13 (step S1418).

By the above processing, the terminals 10aa and 10db can participate in the communication session with participation restriction and transmit the content data to each other via the relay device 30, that is, can hold a video conference. Will be.

Next, the management device 50 transmits the terminal state change information notifying that the state of the terminal 10 has been changed by the terminal management unit 53 to each terminal 10 registered in the terminal management DB 5003 (step S1419, step S1419, 1420).

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the terminal 10 serving as the request source terminal starts the session, the start request information including the request destination identification information and the participation authentication information is transmitted to the request destination terminal. Then, when the terminal 10 serving as the request source terminal receives the start instruction information including the private flag and the conference preparation completion information in response to the start request information, the terminal 10 establishes communication with the request destination terminal in the restricted conference.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when holding a session with participation restrictions, it is not necessary to inquire about the status of the requesting terminal in advance, and the user of the requesting terminal inputs the identification information of the requesting terminal and the PIN code. Then, a transmission instruction is given to the management device 50, and the response may be waited for.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to simplify the operation when holding a restricted session and improve the operability.

Note that the examples of FIGS. 13 and 14 show a case where the request destination terminal 10db is waiting in a state where it can participate in a session with participation restrictions, but depending on the state of the request destination terminal, it participates. There are some cases where you cannot participate in a restricted session. In that case, the request destination terminal returns a response according to the state of its own device to the request source terminal. The details of the processing of the request destination terminal in this case will be described later.

Next, the operation of the management device 50 and the request destination terminal 10db in the transmission system 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the management device of the first embodiment. FIG. 15 shows the operation when the management device 50 receives the start request information. In other words, FIG. 15 shows the details of the process of step S1303 of FIG. 13 or step S1403 of FIG.

When the management device 50 of the present embodiment receives the start request information from the request source terminal (step S1501), the transmission destination determination unit 60 determines whether or not the destination included in the start request information is the request destination identification information. Determine (step S1502).

In step S1502, when the destination is the request destination identification information, the management device 50 transfers the start request information to the request destination terminal indicated by the destination (step S1503), and ends the process. That is, the management device 50 regards the transmission destination included in the start request information as a transfer request to the transmission destination of the start request information.

In step S1502, when the destination is not the request destination identification information, that is, when the destination is the IP address of the management device 50, the management device 50 interprets the message included in the start request information (step S1504). Subsequently, the management device 50 notifies the terminal (destination terminal) using the destination identification information described in the message of the start request information of the content of the message (step S1505), and ends the process.

Specifically, the management device 50 notifies the destination terminal described in the message of the call control execution request described in the message of the start request information.

Next, the operation of the request destination terminal of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the request destination terminal of the first embodiment.

In FIG. 16, the request destination terminal will be described as the terminal 10db. Further, FIG. 16 shows the processing of the terminal 10db when the identification information of the terminal 10db does not exist in the destination list and the start request information with the identification information of the terminal 10db as the transmission destination is generated in the requesting terminal 10aa. ..

When the terminal 10db receives the incoming call of the start request information to which the identification information (request destination identification information) of the own machine is specified and the PIN code is attached (step S1601), the terminal 10db determines whether or not the own machine is on standby. (Step S1602). In addition, "standby" means a state in which communication is possible and communication is not in progress. If the device is not on standby in step S1602, the process proceeds to step S1606 described later.

In step S1602, when waiting, the terminal 10db generates conference participation request information including the received PIN code by the request generation unit 23, and transmits it to the management device 50 (step S1603).

Subsequently, the terminal 10db causes the display control unit 17 to display the conference preparation screen (step S1604). Subsequently, the terminal 10db generates the conference preparation completion information including the private flag by the request generation unit 23 and transmits it to the management device 50 (step S1605), and ends the process.

If the terminal 10db is not in standby in step S1602, the terminal 10db determines whether or not the own machine is in a meeting (step S1606). In other words, the terminal 10db determines whether or not its own device is communicating with another terminal 10.

In step S1606, when the meeting is not in progress, that is, when communication is not in progress, the terminal 10db ends the process in order to indicate that the terminal 10db is offline. If the terminal 10db is offline in step S1606, the management device 50 may notify the requesting terminal 10aa that the terminal 10db is offline.

In step S1606, when the conference is in progress, that is, when the terminal 10db is communicating, the terminal 10db determines whether or not the conference in which the own machine is participating is a conference with participation restrictions (step S1607). ).

In step S1607, in the case of a conference with participation restrictions, the terminal 10db generates conference preparation completion information including a private flag by the request generation unit 23 and transmits it to the management device 50 (step S1608), and ends the process.

The conference preparation completion information generated in step S1608 only indicates that the terminal 10db is participating in a conference with participation restrictions. Therefore, the conference with participation restrictions indicated by the conference preparation completion information generated here may be different from the conference indicated by the start request information received in step S1601.

In the present embodiment, for example, the management device 50 may request the terminal 10db to input the PIN code after receiving the conference preparation completion information generated in step S1608. Then, the management device 50 may establish a session between the terminal 10aa and the terminal 10db when the PIN code input by the terminal 10db matches the PIN code received in step S1601.

Further, in the management device 50, when the PIN code input by the terminal 10db does not match the PIN code received in step S1601, the terminal 10db participates in another conference with participation restrictions with respect to the terminal 10aa. You may notify that.

In step S1607, in the case of a conference without participation restrictions, the terminal 10db generates conference preparation completion information that does not include the private flag by the request generation unit 23 and transmits it to the management device 50 (step S1609) to perform processing. finish.

In this case, the management device 50 may notify the terminal 10aa, which is the requesting terminal, that the terminal 10db is participating in another conference for which participation is not restricted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when holding a conference with participation restrictions, it is only necessary to input the identification information and PIN code of the request destination terminal at the request source terminal and instruct the transmission of the start request information. , A response including whether or not to participate in the conference can be obtained according to the state of the request destination terminal. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the operation of confirming the state of the request destination terminal can be omitted, and the operation can be simplified.

Next, an example of a screen displayed on the display 120 will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 to 24.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of an identification information input screen. On the screen 1100-1 shown in FIG. 17, a dialog box 1701 including an input field for the identification information of the terminal using the request destination identification information is displayed.

The input field 1702, the software keyboard 1703, the buttons 1704, and 1705 are displayed in the dialog box 1701.

In the input field 1702, the identification information of the request destination terminal is input. The software keyboard 1703 is used for inputting identification information. Button 1704 is a button for giving participation authentication information and giving a transmission instruction. Button 1705 is a button for giving a transmission instruction without giving participation authentication information.

When the button 1704 is operated, the display 120 displays the screen 1100-2 described later. When the button 1705 is operated, the requesting terminal generates the conference start request information for which the participation restriction is not set and transmits it to the management device 50.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen for participation authentication information. On the screen 1100-2 shown in FIG. 18, a dialog box 1801 including an input field for participation authentication information is displayed.

An input field 1802, a numeric keypad 1803, and a button 1804 are displayed in the dialog box 1801.

In the input field 1802, the PIN code which is the participation authentication information is input. The numeric keypad 1803 is used for inputting a PIN code. Button 1804 indicates the completion of the PIN code input.

On the terminal 10, when the button 1804 is operated on the screen 1100-2, the screen transitions to the screen 1100-1 and the dialog box 1701 displaying the button 1704 for issuing a call instruction with participation restriction is displayed. Is also good.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for notifying a transmission to the management device. The dialog box 1901 is displayed on the screen 1100-3 shown in FIG. The dialog box 1901 is a dialog box displayed in step S1107 of FIG.

Display fields 1902 and 1903 and buttons 1904 are displayed in the dialog box 1901.

In the display field 1902, a message indicating that the start request information to which the PIN code is attached has been transmitted to the management device 50 is displayed. Further, in the display field 1903, the identification information of the request destination terminal input in the input field 1702 and the name of the request destination terminal specified by the identification information are displayed.

The button 1904 is a button for stopping the transmission to the management device 50. When the button 1904 is operated, the terminal 10 stops the transmission to the management device 50.

FIG. 20 is a first diagram showing an example of a screen on which an error message is displayed. The dialog box 2001 is displayed on the screen 1100-4 shown in FIG. The dialog box 2001 is a dialog box displayed in step S1108 of FIG.

Message 2002 and button 2003 are displayed in the dialog box 2001.

The message 2002 is an error message indicating that the transmission cannot be made because the identification information of the request destination terminal input in the input field 1702 is the identification information of the own machine.

The button 2003 is a button for transitioning the screen 1100-4 to the screen 1100-1 or the like. When the button 2003 is operated, the terminal 10 may erase the dialog box 2001 from the screen 1100-4 and shift the screen 1100-4 to the screen 1100 shown in FIG. Further, when the button 2003 is operated, the terminal 10 may erase the dialog box 2001 from the screen 1100-4 and shift the screen 1100-4 to the screen 1100-1 on which the dialog box 1701 is displayed. ..

FIG. 21 is a second diagram showing an example of a screen on which an error message is displayed. The dialog box 2101 is displayed on the screen 1100-5 shown in FIG. The dialog box 2101 is a dialog box displayed in step S1110 of FIG.

In the dialog box 2101, a message 2102, a display field 2103, and a button 2104 are displayed.

The message 2102 is an error message indicating that the identification information of the request destination terminal input in the input field 1702 does not exist in the terminal management database 5003 and cannot be transmitted. In the display field 2103, the identification information input in the input field 1702 is displayed.

Button 2104 is a button for transitioning the screen 1100-5 to the screen 1100-1 or the like. When the button 2104 is operated, the terminal 10 may erase the dialog box 2101 from the screen 1100-5 and shift the screen 1100-5 to the screen 1100 shown in FIG. Further, when the button 2104 is operated, the terminal 10 may erase the dialog box 2101 from the screen 1100-5 and shift the screen 1100-5 to the screen 1100-1 on which the dialog box 1701 is displayed. ..

FIG. 22 is a third diagram showing an example of a screen on which an error message is displayed. The dialog box 2201 is displayed on the screen 1100-6 shown in FIG. 22. The dialog box 2201 is a dialog box displayed in step S1113 of FIG.

In the dialog box 2201, a message 2202, a display field 2203, and a button 2204 are displayed.

The message 2202 is an error message indicating that the request destination terminal specified by the identification information input in the input field 1702 is offline and cannot be transmitted. In the display field 2203, the identification information input in the input field 1702 and the name of the request destination terminal specified by the identification information are displayed.

The button 2204 is a button for transitioning the screen 1100-6 to the screen 1100-1 or the like. When the button 2204 is operated, the terminal 10 may erase the dialog box 2201 from the screen 1100-6 and shift the screen 1100-6 to the screen 1100 shown in FIG. Further, when the button 2204 is operated, the terminal 10 may erase the dialog box 2201 from the screen 1100-6 and shift the screen 1100-6 to the screen 1100-1 on which the dialog box 1701 is displayed. ..

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for notifying the connection to the request destination terminal. The dialog box 2301 is displayed on the screen 1100-7 shown in FIG. 23. The dialog box 2301 is a dialog box displayed in step S1112 of FIG.

Display columns 2302 and 2303 and buttons 2304 are displayed in the dialog box 2301.

In the display field 2302, a message indicating that the start request information to which the PIN code is attached has been transmitted to the request destination terminal specified by the identification information via the management device 50 is displayed. Further, in the display field 2303, the identification information input in the input field 1702 and the name of the request destination terminal specified by the identification information are displayed.

The button 2304 is a button for stopping the transmission to the management device 50. When the button 2304 is operated, the terminal 10 cancels the connection to the request destination terminal.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for notifying an incoming call from the requesting terminal. The dialog box 2401 is displayed on the screen 1100-8 shown in FIG. 24. The dialog box 2401 is displayed when the start request information arrives at the terminal 10.

Display fields 2402 and 2403 and buttons 2404 and 2405 are displayed in the dialog box 2401.

In the display field 2402, a message indicating that the start request information to which the PIN code is attached is being received is displayed. Further, in the display field 2403, the identification information of the requesting source terminal that has transmitted the start request information is displayed.

Button 2404 is a button for rejecting an incoming call. Button 2405 is a button for answering an incoming call.

In the terminal 10, when the button 2404 is operated, the reception completion information for the start request information is not transmitted to the request source terminal. Further, in the terminal 10, when the button 2405 is operated, the reception completion information for the start request information is transmitted to the request source terminal.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the dialog box according to the situation is displayed on the display 120 when the terminal 10 becomes the request source terminal and when it becomes the request destination terminal.

(Second embodiment)
The second embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the second embodiment, the case of participating in a session with participation restrictions that has already been held will be described. In the following description of the second embodiment, those having the same functional configuration as the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals as those used in the description of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted. To do.

FIG. 25 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the transmission system of the second embodiment. FIG. 25 shows a case where the terminal 10aa requests the terminal 10db, which is already participating in the conference for which the participation restriction is set, to participate in the conference. Further, FIG. 25 shows the operation of the transmission system 1 when the identification information (request destination identification information) input in the terminal 10aa does not exist in the destination list.

Since the processing from step S2501 to step S2507 in FIG. 25 is the same as the processing from step S1401 to step S1407 in FIG. 14, the description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, the terminal 10db is already participating in the conference to which the session ID is assigned. Therefore, in FIG. 25, the process of generating the session ID and notifying the terminal 10aa and the terminal 10db of the session ID is not performed.

Following step S2507, when the terminal 10db transmits the reception completion information, the request generation unit 23 generates the conference preparation completion information and transmits it to the management device 50 (step S2508).

Since the processing from step S2508 to step S2511 in FIG. 25 is the same as the processing from step S1413 to step S1416 in FIG. 14, the description thereof will be omitted.

When the management device 50 receives the conference participation request information from the terminal 10aa, the participation determination unit 59 causes the PIN code included in the conference participation information to correspond to the identification information (request destination identification information) of the terminal 10db in the terminal management table 801. It is determined whether or not the PIN code matches the attached PIN code (step S2512). Here, it is assumed that the participation determination unit 59 determines that the two match.

Subsequently, the management device 50 generates the relay start request information and transmits it to the relay device 30 (step S2513). The relay start request information includes the session ID and the IP address of the terminal 10aa of the requesting terminal.

Since the processing of steps S2513 to S2516 of FIG. 25 is the same as the processing of steps S1417 to S1420 of FIG. 14, the description thereof will be omitted.

In the example of FIG. 25, the identification information and the PIN code are input in step S2501, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present embodiment, for example, in step S2501, the input of only the request destination identification information may be received and transmitted to the management device 50, and in step S2510, the PIN code may be input in response to the request for input of the PIN code.

Next, the operation of the terminal 10aa of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 26. FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the requesting terminal of the second embodiment.

The terminal 10aa of the present embodiment receives the request destination identification information, the PIN code input, and the transmission instruction by the operation input reception unit 12 (step S2601).

Subsequently, the terminal 10aa determines whether or not the meeting preparation completion information with the private flag has been received by the type determination unit 25 (step S2602). In other words, the type determination unit 25 determines whether or not the received conference preparation completion information includes the private flag.

In step S2602, when the conference preparation completion information does not include the private flag, the terminal 10aa contains a dialog box including an error message indicating that the request destination terminal terminal 10db is in a normal conference by the display control unit 17. Is displayed (step S2603), and the process ends. A regular meeting is a meeting in which participation is not restricted.

In step S2602, when the conference preparation completion information includes the private flag, the terminal 10aa generates the conference participation request information including the PIN code by the request generation unit 23 and transmits it to the management device 50 (step S2604).

Subsequently, the terminal 10aa determines whether or not the PIN code matches the PIN code corresponding to the terminal 10db in the determination by the participation determination unit 59 of the management device 50 (step S2605). In other words, the terminal 10aa determines whether or not the determination result by the participation determination unit 59 in the management device 50 is "match".

If they match in step S2605, the terminal 10aa causes the display control unit 17 to display the conference preparation screen (step S2606), and ends the process.

If they do not match in step S2605, the display control unit 17 causes the display control unit 17 to display a dialog box including an error message indicating that the PIN codes do not match (step S2607), and ends the process.

As described above, in the present embodiment, even when participating in a restricted conference that has already been held, simply inputting the request destination identification information and the PIN code and issuing a call instruction, depending on the state of the request destination terminal. You can get a response. Further, in the present embodiment, when the request destination terminal is in a restricted conference and the PIN codes match, the requesting terminal can participate in the restricted conference as it is.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to simplify the operation of participating in a session in which participation is restricted.

(Third embodiment)
The third embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the terminals participating in the session with participation restrictions hold the PIN code. Therefore, in the following description of the third embodiment, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described, and the description of the first embodiment will be described for those having the same functional configuration as the first embodiment. A code similar to the code used in 1 is assigned, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, when a new terminal joins the conference after the participation-restricted conference is started, the terminal participating in the conference notifies the new terminal of the PIN code.

In the present embodiment, according to this configuration, when a new terminal joins the conference after the start of the conference with participation restrictions, the participants who are participating in the conference are transferred to the operator of the newly participating terminal. It is possible to reduce the trouble of notifying the PIN code by means other than the above.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the terminal of the third embodiment. The terminal 10-1 of the present embodiment has a PIN code holding unit 26 in addition to each portion of the terminal 10 of the first embodiment.

The PIN code holding unit 26 of the present embodiment holds the PIN code assigned to the terminal 10-1 until the end of the meeting with participation restrictions.

FIG. 28 is a first sequence diagram showing the operation of the transmission system of the third embodiment. FIG. 28 shows the operation of the transmission system 1 when the terminal 10-1aa requests the terminal 10-1db to start communication such as a video conference and starts a conference with participation restrictions.

Since the processing from step S2801 to step S2820 in FIG. 28 is the same as the processing from step S1401 to step S1420 in FIG. 14, description thereof will be omitted.

The terminal 10-1aa holds the PIN code following step S2820 (step S2821). Further, the terminal 10-1db holds the PIN code following step S2820 (step S2822).

As described above, in the example of FIG. 28, the PIN code is held in both the terminal 10-1aa and the terminal 10-1db that started the conference with participation restriction.

Next, with reference to FIG. 29, the operation of the transmission system 1 when the terminal 10-1aa participates in the participation-restricted conference being held in the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 29 is a second sequence diagram showing the operation of the transmission system of the third embodiment. Since the processing from step S2901 to step S2916 in FIG. 29 is the same as the processing from step S2501 to step S2516 in FIG. 25, the description thereof will be omitted.

Following step S2916, the terminal 10-1aa holds the PIN code holding unit 26 holding the PIN code specified in step S2901 (step S2917).

At this time, since the terminal 10-1db participates in the conference with participation restrictions, it already holds the PIN code.

Next, with reference to FIG. 30, the transmission system 1 for notifying the PIN code from the terminal 10-1aa participating in the participation-restricted conference to the terminal 10-1db newly participating in the participation-restricted conference. The operation of is explained.

FIG. 30 is a third sequence diagram showing the operation of the transmission system of the third embodiment. The terminal 10-1aa of the present embodiment acquires the PIN code held by the PIN code holding unit 26 when the terminal 10-1db is made to participate in the conference with participation restrictions (step S3001).

Subsequently, the terminal 10-1aa receives an input operation of the identification information (request destination identification information) of the request destination terminal (terminal 10-1db) by the user by the operation input reception unit 12 (step S3002).

Subsequently, the terminal 10-1aa generates start request information including the acquired PIN code and the input identification information by the request generation unit 23, and transmits the start request information to the management device 50 (step S3003).

Since the processing from step S3004 to step S3021 is the same as the processing from step S1403 to step S1420 in FIG. 14, the description thereof will be omitted.

In the example of FIG. 30, the PIN code is notified by transmitting the PIN code by designating the identification information to the terminal 10-1db newly participating in the conference with participation restrictions. The method is not limited to this. The method of notifying the PIN code may be, for example, a method of designating the address of the request destination terminal from the address book and notifying the PIN code by e-mail.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the PIN code is retained when the meeting is restricted to participation. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when a new terminal participates in this conference, it is possible to reduce the trouble of notifying the operator of the newly participating terminal of the PIN code by means other than the terminal.

Although the present invention has been described above based on each embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the requirements shown in the above embodiments. With respect to these points, the gist of the present invention can be changed without impairing the gist of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form thereof.

1 Transmission system 10 Information processing terminal (terminal)
17 Display control unit 23 Request generation unit 24 Response generation unit 25 Type determination unit 26 PIN code holding unit 30 Relay device 50 Transmission management device (management device)
59 Participation Judgment Unit 60 Destination Judgment Unit 1002 Destination List

JP-A-2015-209252

Claims (13)

An information processing terminal that communicates with another information processing terminal using identification information managed by a transmission management device.
A storage unit in which a destination list, which is a list of destination identification information indicating a communication destination corresponding to the identification information, is stored, and a storage unit.
An input unit that accepts input of request destination identification information indicating another information processing terminal to be a communication request destination and participation authentication information indicating participation qualification for communication with another information processing terminal.
It has a transmission / reception unit that generates communication start request information including the request destination identification information, the participation authentication information, and a communication execution request with the information processing terminal, and transmits the communication start request information to the transmission management device. ,
The transmitter / receiver
When the request destination identification information is the destination identification information, the first start request information with the destination as the transmission management device is transmitted to the transmission management device.
An information processing terminal that transmits to the transmission management device a second start request information whose destination is another information processing terminal indicated by the request destination identification information when the request destination identification information is not the destination identification information. A type determination unit that determines whether or not the participation authentication information is requested based on the communication preparation completion information that indicates that the preparation for participating in the communication is completed received from the other information processing terminal.
It has a request generation unit that generates the start request information, and has
The request generation unit
When the participation authentication information is requested, communication participation request information including the participation authentication information is generated.
The transmitter / receiver
The information processing terminal according to claim 1, wherein the communication participation request information is transmitted to the transmission management device. The request generation unit
The information processing terminal according to claim 2, wherein the second start request information is generated when the request destination identification information exists in the terminal management table of the transmission management device and does not exist in the destination list. The request generation unit
The information processing according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first start request information is generated when the request destination identification information exists in the destination list and the information processing terminal is in a communicable state. Terminal. When the information processing terminal is in a communicable state when the input unit receives an operation of a response to the start request information received from the transmission management device.
The request generation unit
The information processing terminal according to any one of claims 2 to 4, which generates start request information including the participation authentication information. When the information processing terminal is participating in a communication that requires participation authentication information,
The request generation unit
The information processing terminal according to claim 5, which generates communication preparation completion information including the participation authentication information. When the information processing terminal is participating in a communication that does not require participation authentication information,
The request generation unit
The information processing terminal according to claim 5 or 6, which generates communication preparation completion information that does not include the participation authentication information. It has a creation unit that creates the destination list.
The creation part
Based on the destination list information received from the transmission management device by the transmission / reception unit and managed as a destination by the transmission management device, and the state information indicating the status of other information processing terminals existing in the destination list. , The information processing terminal according to any one of claims 2 to 7, which creates the destination list. It has a participation authentication information holding unit that holds the participation authentication information.
The request generation unit
The information processing terminal according to any one of claims 2 to 8, which generates the communication start request information using the participation authentication information held by the participation authentication information holding unit. A communication system including another information processing terminal, a transmission management device, and an information processing terminal that performs communication using identification information managed by the transmission management device.
The information processing terminal is
A storage unit in which a destination list, which is a list of destination identification information indicating a communication destination corresponding to the identification information, is stored, and a storage unit.
An input unit that accepts input of request destination identification information indicating another information processing terminal to be a communication request destination and participation authentication information indicating participation qualification for communication with another information processing terminal.
It has a transmission / reception unit that generates communication start request information including the request destination identification information, the participation authentication information, and a communication execution request with the information processing terminal, and transmits the communication start request information to the transmission management device. ,
The transmitter / receiver
When the request destination identification information is the destination identification information, the first start request information with the destination as the transmission management device is transmitted to the transmission management device.
When the request destination identification information is not the destination identification information, a communication system that transmits to the transmission management device a second start request information whose destination is another information processing terminal indicated by the request destination identification information. The transmission management device is
A claim having a destination determination unit for determining whether the start request information is the first start request information or the second start request information based on the destination of the received start request information. 10. The communication system according to 10. For information processing terminals that communicate with other information processing terminals using identification information managed by the transmission management device.
A process of storing a destination list, which is a list of destination identification information indicating a communication destination corresponding to the identification information, in a storage unit, and
An input process that accepts input of request destination identification information indicating another information processing terminal that is a request destination for communication and participation authentication information indicating participation eligibility for communication with another information processing terminal.
A transmission process of generating communication start request information including the request destination identification information, the participation authentication information, and a communication execution request with the information processing terminal and transmitting the communication start request information to the transmission management device is executed. ,
The transmission process is
When the request destination identification information is the destination identification information, the first start request information with the destination as the transmission management device is transmitted to the transmission management device.
When the request destination identification information is not the destination identification information, the process of transmitting the second start request information to the transmission management device with the destination as another information processing terminal indicated by the request destination identification information is the information processing. An information processing program that is executed by the terminal. A communication method using a communication system including another information processing terminal, a transmission management device, and an information processing terminal that performs communication using identification information managed by the transmission management device.
The information processing terminal
A procedure for storing a destination list, which is a list of destination identification information indicating a communication destination corresponding to the identification information, in a storage unit, and
An input procedure for accepting input of request destination identification information indicating another information processing terminal to be a communication request destination and participation authentication information indicating participation eligibility for communication with another information processing terminal.
A transmission procedure for generating communication start request information including the request destination identification information, the participation authentication information, and a communication execution request with the information processing terminal and transmitting the communication start request information to the transmission management device is executed. ,
The transmission procedure is
When the request destination identification information is the destination identification information, the first start request information with the destination as the transmission management device is transmitted to the transmission management device.
A communication method in which, when the request destination identification information is not the destination identification information, a second start request information is transmitted to the transmission management device with the destination as another information processing terminal indicated by the request destination identification information.

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