JP7163981B2 - Call terminal, call function activation method, and program - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an invention for activating one of a plurality of call functions of different call methods.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the demand for reducing business trip expenses and business trip times, call systems that conduct teleconferences and the like via communication networks such as the Internet have become widespread. By using such a call system, image data and voice data are transmitted and received between a plurality of call terminals, and a video conference can be held (see Patent Document 1).

On the other hand, one call terminal is equipped with two types of call functions that use two different communication methods, PDC (Personal Digital Cellular) and PHS (Personal Handyphone System). A videophone system has been proposed in which a call is made by switching (see Patent Document 2).

However, the two conventional communication systems differ in both the call control system for connecting or disconnecting the call destination and the encoding system for encoding the call data. In other words, in the conventional call terminal, two types of call functions using completely different communication methods are installed in one housing, and only one of the functions operates exclusively. Therefore, there is a problem that it is not possible to selectively use a plurality of types of call functions using communication schemes having the same call control scheme but different encoding schemes.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a receiving means for receiving information on the destination from a management system for managing the destination has the same call control method and a different encoding method for encoding video data. display control means for displaying a function selection screen for selecting two or more call functions including a call function and a second call function; and the first call function and the second call function on the function selection screen. operation input reception means for determining which of the call functions has been selected; and activation of the first call function when it is determined that the first call function has been selected; activation means for activating the second call function when it is determined that the call function of is selected, and when the first call function is activated by the activation means, the received When a call is started to a destination selected from destination information and the second call function is activated by the activation means, it is different from the case where the first call function is activated. A call terminal characterized by starting a call to a destination designated by a destination designation method.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to selectively use a plurality of types of call functions using communication systems having the same call control system and different encoding systems.

1 is a schematic diagram of a call system according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a communication situation when a call is realized between call terminals having dedicated terminal functions; 3 is a conceptual diagram showing image quality of image data transmitted and received according to the SVC standard in FIG. 2; FIG. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a communication situation when a call is realized between call terminals having non-dedicated terminal functions; 5 is a conceptual diagram showing image quality of image data transmitted and received according to the AVC standard in FIG. 4; FIG. 1 is an external view of a call terminal according to this embodiment; FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of a call terminal according to the embodiment; FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a call management system, a relay device, a program providing system, or a maintenance system according to this embodiment; FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a call terminal, a relay device, and a call management system that constitute a part of the call system of the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a visual information management table; FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a relay device management table; FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a terminal authentication management table; FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a terminal state management table; FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a destination list management table; FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a session management table; FIG. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing processing in a preparatory stage for starting a call between terminals; 10 is a flow chart showing a process of selecting dedicated terminal functions or non-dedicated terminal functions; FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a call function selection screen; 10 is a flowchart showing processing for displaying a destination list; FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a destination list; FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of the function selection screen; FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of a destination list;

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 20. FIG.

<<Overall configuration of the embodiment>>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a call system according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a call system 1 includes a plurality of call terminals (10aa, 10ab, . . . ), displays (120aa, 120ab, . It is constructed by relay devices ( 30 a , 30 b , 30 c ), a call management system 50 , a program providing system 90 and a maintenance system 100 . By communicating image data and sound data, which are examples of call data, using the call system 1, teleconferences and the like between remote locations can be realized. A plurality of routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d, 70ab, 70cd) selects the optimum route for call data.

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

On the other hand, the call terminals (10ca, 10cb, 10cc, . The call terminal 10d (10da, 10db, 10dc, . . . ), the relay device 30d, and the router 70d are communicably connected by the LAN 2d. Also, LAN2c and LAN2d are communicably connected by a dedicated line 2cd including a router 70cd. Furthermore, LAN2c, LAN2d, and leased line 2cd are constructed within a predetermined area Y. FIG. For example, Region Y is the United States of America, LAN2c is built in the New York office, and LAN2d is in Washington DC. C. built within the company's premises. Region X and region Y are communicably connected via the Internet 2i from routers (70ab, 70cd).

It should be noted that, hereinafter, "call terminal" is simply referred to as "terminal", and "call management system" is simply referred to as "management system". An arbitrary terminal among the plurality of terminals (10aa, 10ab, . . . ) is denoted as “terminal 10”, and an arbitrary display among the plurality of displays (120aa, 120ab, . , an arbitrary relay device among the plurality of relay devices (30a, 30b, 30c) is represented as "relay device 30". Further, a terminal as a request source requesting the start of a video conference is represented as a "request source terminal", and a terminal as a destination (relay destination) of the request is represented as a "destination terminal". An arbitrary router among the routers (70a, 70b, 70c, 70d, 70ab, 70cd) is represented as "router 70".

Also, the management system 50, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 are connected to the Internet 2i. Note that the management system 50, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 may be installed in the area X or the area Y, or may be installed in areas other than these.

Further, in this embodiment, the communication network 2 of this embodiment is constructed by LAN 2a, LAN 2b, dedicated line 2ab, Internet 2i, dedicated line 2cd, LAN 2c, and LAN 2d. The communication network 2 may include not only wired but also wireless communication such as WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) and Bluetooth (registered trademark).

In addition, in FIG. 1, four sets of numbers shown under each terminal 10, each relay device 30, management system 50, each router 70, program providing system 90, and maintenance system 100 are IP addresses are simply shown. For example, the IP address of the terminal lOaa is "1.2.1.3". Also, IPv6 may be used instead of IPv4, but IPv4 is used in the description to simplify the description.

Each terminal 10 can be used not only for calls between multiple offices and between different rooms in the same office, but also for calls within the same room, outdoor-to-indoor or outdoor-to-outdoor calls. may be used. When each terminal 10 is used outdoors, wireless communication such as a mobile phone communication network is performed.

Also, each terminal 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a terminal that implements a call of a user by transmitting and receiving call data, and is, for example, a teleconference terminal. Furthermore, the terminal 10 uses a predetermined communication method (a call control method for connecting or disconnecting a call destination, and an encoding method for converting call data into IP packets) to transmit and receive call data. conduct.

This call control method includes (1) SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), (2) H.323, (3) extended SIP protocol, (4) instant messenger protocol, and (5) SIP MESSAGE method. (6) an Internet relay chat protocol (IRC (Internet Relay Chat)); (7) an extension of an instant messenger protocol; Of these, (4) instant messenger protocol is, for example, (4-1) XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), or (4-2) ICQ (registered trademark), AIM (registered trademark), or Skype (registered trademark) trademark), etc. (7) A protocol obtained by extending the instant messenger protocol is, for example, Jingle.

In addition, among the plurality of terminals 10, for example, a communication method in which the call control method is an instant messenger protocol (or an extended protocol of the instant messenger protocol) and the coding method is SVC (Scalable Video Coding) is used. Terminals 10 that do so are denoted as "dedicated terminals". Furthermore, among the plurality of terminals 10, terminals 10 that use a communication scheme whose call control scheme and coding scheme are different from those of dedicated terminals are represented as "non-dedicated terminals." Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as an example of two terminals with different communication methods, a “dedicated terminal” is described as a terminal manufactured, sold, or managed by a specific company, and a “non-dedicated terminal” is a terminal manufactured, sold, or managed by a specific company. explained as a terminal that is manufactured, sold, or managed by a company other than In the present embodiment, terminals manufactured, sold, or managed by different companies often have different communication methods, so the above example will be used for explanation. As an example of two terminals with different communication methods, among the terminals manufactured or sold by the same company, the terminal manufactured or sold later is called "dedicated terminal", and the terminal manufactured or sold earlier is called "dedicated terminal". It may be a non-dedicated terminal. A dual-codec compatible terminal having a dedicated terminal function and a non-dedicated terminal function activates either the dedicated terminal function or the non-dedicated terminal function to perform communication using the same coding scheme as the counterpart terminal. That is, by activating the dedicated terminal function, it is possible to communicate using the same coding scheme as that of the dedicated terminal. By activating the non-dedicated terminal function, it is possible to communicate with the same coding scheme as the non-dedicated terminal.

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

The program providing system 90 is a computer system that provides the terminal 10 , the relay device 30 , the management system 50 , and the maintenance system 100 with programs to be used in each through the communication network 2 .

The maintenance system 100 is a computer system for maintaining, managing, or maintaining at least one of the terminal 10 , the relay device 30 , the management system 50 , and the program providing system 90 . For example, if the maintenance system 100 is installed in Japan and the terminal 10, relay device 30, management system 50, or program providing system 90 is installed outside the country, the maintenance system 100 can be remotely operated via the communication network 2. , the terminal 10 , the relay device 30 , the management system 50 , and the program providing system 90 . In addition, the maintenance system 100 can, without going through the communication network 2, store the model number, manufacturing number, sales destination, maintenance inspection, Or perform maintenance such as management of failure history.

Next, a first communication pattern for realizing a call between two terminals 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. Note that FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a communication situation when a call is realized between call terminals having a dedicated terminal function. In addition, the terminal 10 includes a dedicated terminal, a non-dedicated terminal, and a dual codec compatible terminal having a dedicated terminal function (an example of a first call function) and a non-dedicated terminal function (an example of a second call function). include. Here, the non-dedicated terminal indicates a terminal having a call control method and coding method different from those of the dedicated terminal as described above. Furthermore, the non-dedicated terminal function indicates a terminal function that has the same call control method as the dedicated terminal function but a different coding method.

Among them, the dedicated terminal and the terminal whose dedicated terminal function is activated are exclusively used in the call system 1 that executes the first communication pattern, as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows a case where the request source terminal is the dual codec compatible terminal 10, the dedicated terminal function is activated, and the destination terminal is the dedicated terminal.

This communication system 1 uses, for example, a communication method in which the call control method is an instant messenger protocol (or a protocol extended from the instant messenger protocol) and the coding method is H.264/SVC (Scalable Video Coding). to communicate call data. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, in the communication system 1, a management system 50 is used between the request source terminal and the destination terminal to transmit and receive various types of management information. A communication session sei is established. This communication session sei is also a communication session for call control.

On the other hand, between the request source terminal whose dedicated terminal function is activated and the relay device 30, four types of high-resolution image data, medium-resolution image data, low-resolution image data, and audio data are encoded according to the SVC encoding method. A first communication session sed1 for the call is established for sending and receiving call data. Further, between the relay device 30 and the destination terminal, four types of call data, ie, high-resolution image data, medium-resolution image data, low-resolution image data, and voice data are transmitted and received by the SVC encoding method. A second communication session sed2 has been established for a call to .

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

As shown in FIG. 3(a), a low-resolution image consisting of 160 horizontal pixels and 120 vertical pixels, serving as a base image, and a low-resolution image having horizontal pixels as shown in FIG. A medium-resolution image consisting of 320 pixels by 240 pixels high and a high-resolution image consisting of 640 pixels horizontally by 480 pixels vertically as shown in FIG. 3C are transmitted and received. Of these, when passing through the narrow band path, the relay device 30 relays low image quality image data consisting of only low resolution image data as a base image. When the band is relatively wide, the relay device 30 relays the low-resolution image data serving as the base image and the medium-quality image data composed of the medium-resolution image data. In addition, when the band is very wide, the relay device 30 relays high-quality image data composed of low-resolution image data serving as the base image quality, medium-resolution image data, and high-resolution image data. .

Next, a second communication pattern for realizing a call between two terminals 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. In addition, it is a conceptual diagram showing a communication situation when a call is realized between call terminals having a non-dedicated terminal function.

Non-dedicated terminals, and terminals with the non-dedicated terminal function activated, are used exclusively in a call system 1' executing the second communication pattern, as shown in FIG. As described above, in the communication system 1 that executes the first communication pattern, the dedicated terminal and the dedicated terminal function cannot be used because the communication method is different. Note that FIG. 4 shows a case where the request source terminal is a dual codec compatible terminal, the non-dedicated terminal function is activated, and the destination terminal is a non-dedicated terminal.

In this call system 1', the call control method of the request source terminal is the same instant messenger protocol as the first communication pattern (or a protocol expanded from the instant messenger protocol), and the encoding method is the first communication pattern. Unlike the H.264/AVC (Advanced Video Coding) communication method, communication of call data is performed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a communication session sei1 for management is established between the requesting terminal and the management system 50 in the communication system 1' for transmitting and receiving various management information. It is This communication session sei1 is also a communication session for call control. Furthermore, when the non-dedicated terminal function is activated in the requesting terminal, the coding scheme is changed from SVC to AVC.

On the other hand, a communication session sei2 for call control of a non-dedicated terminal is established between the management system 50 and the destination terminal, and this call control method is different from that of the requesting terminal. For example SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) or H.323. In this case, since the call control method differs between the request source terminal and the destination terminal, the management system 50 converts the call control method. Specifically, when the request source terminal is activating the non-dedicated terminal function, the management system 50 converts data related to call control based on the conversion rule data used to convert the call control method. to perform call control. Furthermore, the encoding scheme of the destination terminal (non-dedicated terminal) is the same AVC as that of the request source terminal whose non-dedicated terminal function is activated.

A call communication session sed for transmitting and receiving call data is established between the request source terminal and the destination terminal. A communication session sed may be established directly between the request source terminal and the destination terminal, or may be established via a relay device.

Here, the image resolution of image data handled in the second communication pattern shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing image quality of image data transmitted and received according to the AVC standard shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, only one image data consisting of 320 horizontal pixels and 240 vertical pixels is transmitted and received.

<<Hardware configuration of the embodiment>>
Next, the hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is an external view of the call terminal according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the terminal 10 comprises a housing 1100, an arm 1200, and a camera housing 1300. As shown in FIG. Of these, the front wall surface 1110 of the housing 1100 is provided with an air intake surface (not shown) formed by a plurality of air intake holes, and the rear wall surface 1120 of the housing 1100 is formed with a plurality of exhaust holes. An exhaust surface 1121 is provided. As a result, by driving the cooling fan built into the housing 1100 , the outside air behind the terminal 10 can be taken in via the intake surface (not shown) and exhausted to the rear of the terminal 10 via the exhaust surface 1121 . A sound collection hole 1131 is formed in the right side wall surface 1130 of the housing 1100, and sounds such as voice, noise, and noise can be collected by a built-in microphone 114, which will be described later.

An operation panel 1150 is formed on the right wall surface 1130 side of the housing 1100 . This 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, and outputs sound from a built-in speaker 115 described later. A sound output surface 1151 is formed by a plurality of sound output holes for passage. Further, on the left wall surface 1140 side of the housing 1100, an accommodating portion 1160 is formed as a concave portion for accommodating the arm 1200 and the camera housing 1300. As shown in FIG. A right wall surface 1130 of the housing 1100 is provided with a plurality of connection ports (1132a to 1132c) for electrically connecting cables to an external device connection I/F 118, which will be described later. On the other hand, left side wall surface 1140 of housing 1100 is provided with a connection port (not shown) for electrically connecting cable 120c for display 120 to external device connection I/F 118, which will be described later.

In the following description, "operation button 108" is used to indicate an arbitrary operation button among the operation buttons (108a to 108e), and " A connection port 1132" will be used for explanation.

Next, the arm 1200 is attached to the housing 1100 via a torque hinge 1210, and the arm 1200 is configured to be vertically rotatable with respect to the housing 1100 within a tilt angle θ1 of 135 degrees. ing. FIG. 6 shows a state where the tilt angle θ1 is 90 degrees. The camera housing 1300 is provided with a built-in camera 112, which will be described later, and can capture images of users, documents, rooms, and the like. A torque hinge 1310 is also formed on the camera housing 1300 . Camera housing 1300 is attached to arm 1200 via torque hinge 1310 . The camera housing 1300 is attached to the arm 1200 via a torque hinge 1310, and the camera housing 1300 is attached to the arm 1200 at a pan angle θ2 of ±180 degrees with the state shown in FIG. and a tilt angle θ3 of ±45 degrees in the vertical and horizontal directions.

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

FIG. 7 is a hardware configuration diagram of a terminal according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the terminal 10 of the present embodiment has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 that controls the overall operation of the terminal 10, and a program used to drive the CPU 101 such as an IPL (Initial Program Loader). A stored ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103 used as a work area for the CPU 101, a flash memory 104 for storing various data such as programs for the terminal 10, image data, and audio data, and the CPU 101 SSD (Solid State Drive) 105 that controls reading or writing of various data to the flash memory 104 according to the control of , media drive 107 that controls reading or writing (storage) of data to the recording medium 106 such as flash memory, terminal 10 a power switch 109 for switching ON/OFF the power of the terminal 10; a network I/F (Interface) for data transmission using the communication network 2; ) 111.

The terminal 10 also includes a built-in camera 112 that captures an image of a subject and obtains image data under the control of the CPU 101, an image sensor I/F 113 that controls driving of the camera 112, a built-in microphone 114 that inputs sound, a sound , an audio input/output I/F 116 that processes input/output of audio signals between the microphone 114 and the speaker 115 under the control of the CPU 101, and an external display 120 under the control of the CPU 101. A display I/F 117 for transmission, an external device connection I/F 118 for connecting various external devices, an alarm lamp 119 for notifying an abnormality of various functions of the terminal 10, and each of the above components are shown in FIG. It has a bus line 110 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting to the .

The display 120 is a display unit configured by liquid crystal or organic EL for displaying an image of a subject, operation information, and the like. Also, the display 120 is connected to the display I/F 117 by a cable 120c. This cable 120c may be a cable for analog RGB (VGA) signals, a cable for component video, or a cable for HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) or DVI (Digital Video Interactive) signals. cable. Note that HDMI is a registered trademark.

The camera 112 includes a lens and a solid-state imaging device that converts light into electric charge and digitizes an image (video) of a subject. etc. are used.

The external device connection I/F 118 connects an external camera, an external microphone, an external speaker, etc. via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or the like inserted into the connection port 1132 of the housing 1100 shown in FIG. external devices can be electrically connected to each other. When an external camera is connected, the external camera is driven according to the control of the CPU 101 prior to the built-in camera 112 . Similarly, when an external microphone is connected or when an external speaker is connected, according to the control of the CPU 101, the external microphone and speaker are prioritized over the built-in microphone 114 and built-in speaker 115 respectively. Powered by an external speaker.

Note that the recording medium 106 is detachably attached to the terminal 10 . In addition, as long as it is a non-volatile memory from which data is read or written 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.

FIG. 8 is a hardware configuration diagram of the management system according to this embodiment of the present invention. The management system 50 includes a CPU 201 that controls the overall operation of the management system 50, a ROM 202 that stores programs used to drive the CPU 201 such as IPL, a RAM 203 that is used as a work area for the CPU 201, various programs such as programs for the management system 50. An HD 204 that stores data, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 205 that controls reading or writing of various data to the HD 204 under the control of the CPU 201, a medium that controls reading or writing (storage) of data to a recording medium 206 such as a flash memory. drive 207, display 208 for displaying various information such as cursors, menus, windows, characters or images, network I/F 209 for data communication using communication network 2, input of characters, numerical values, various instructions, etc. a keyboard 211 having a plurality of keys for , a mouse 212 for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, etc., and a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) as an example of a removable recording medium. ) 213, a CD-ROM drive 214 for controlling reading or writing of various data, and bus lines such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above components as shown in FIG. 210.

On the other hand, the relay device 30, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 have the same hardware configuration as the management system 50 described above, so description thereof will be omitted. However, each HD 204 stores various data such as programs for controlling the relay device 30, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100, respectively.

Each program for the terminal 10, the relay device 30, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 is stored in a computer-readable recording medium (recording medium 106, etc.) as a file in an installable format or an executable format. may be recorded and circulated. Other examples of the recording medium include CD-R (Compact Disc Recordable), DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), Blu-ray Disc, and the like.

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

<Functional configuration of terminal>
The terminal 10 includes a transmission/reception unit 11, an operation input reception unit 12, a login request unit 13, an imaging unit 14, an audio input unit 15a, an audio output unit 15b, a display control unit 16, an activation unit 17, a destination list creation unit 18, and a memory. · It has a read processing unit 19 . Each of these units is a function realized by any one of the components shown in FIG. or means.

The terminal 10 also has a storage unit 1000 constructed by the RAM 103 shown in FIG. 7 and the flash memory 104 shown in FIG. In this storage unit 1000, a visual information management DB (Data Base) 1001 configured by a visual information management table, which will be described later, is constructed. Further, the storage unit 1000 stores a dedicated terminal application for realizing a dedicated terminal function in the terminal 10 and a non-dedicated terminal application for realizing a non-dedicated terminal function in the terminal 10 .

(Visual information management table)
FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing a visual information management table. In the visual information management table, the visual information represented by the destination list displayed on the display 120 is managed in association with each operating state information indicating the operating state of the destination terminal. Each piece of visual information is, for example, each icon in the form as shown in FIG. Each visual information constituting the visual information management table may be sent from the management system 50 when the requesting terminal requests login in step S22 described later, or may be stored in the storage unit 1000 before the requesting terminal is shipped from the factory. may be stored in

Note that the visual information of this embodiment includes first visual information visually indicating that the communication method used by the destination terminal is the communication method used by the request source terminal (dedicated terminal), and It visually indicates that the communication method used is not the communication method used by the request source terminal (dedicated terminal), and is classified as second visual information that is visually different from the first visual information. Among these, the first visual information includes visual information such as icons indicating the operating status of online (call available), online (during a call), online (temporarily interrupted), or offline.

Further, the second visual information indicates that when communication is performed between the terminals 10 each having two functions of a dedicated terminal function and a non-dedicated terminal function, the request source terminal activates the dedicated terminal function and the destination terminal shows icons and the like displayed on the display 120 of the requesting terminal side when the non-dedicated terminal function is activated.

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

The transmitting/receiving unit 11 of the terminal 10 shown in FIG. 9 is realized by commands from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the network I/F 111 shown in FIG. Sends and receives various data (or information) to and from terminals, devices, or systems. The transmitting/receiving unit 11 starts receiving status information indicating the status of each terminal as a destination candidate from the management system 50 before starting a call with a desired destination terminal. This state information includes not only the operating state (online or offline state) of each terminal 10, but also whether it is possible to make a call even if it is online, whether the user is on a call, whether the user is away from the seat, and so on. Shows the detailed status of This state information is not only the operating state of each terminal 10, but also the cable 120c is disconnected from the terminal 10, the terminal 10 outputs sound but does not output an image, and the state information does not output sound. (MUTE) and various other states. The state information also includes the state in which the non-dedicated terminal function is being activated as described above. In the following, as an example, a case where the state information indicates the operating state will be described.

The operation input reception unit 12 is implemented by commands from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7, and the operation buttons 108 and power switch 109 shown in FIG. 7, and receives various inputs from the user. For example, when the user turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIG. 7, the operation input reception unit 12 shown in FIG. 9 receives the power-on and turns on the power.

The login requesting unit 13 is realized by a command from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7, and upon receipt of the power-on, the transmitting/receiving unit 11 requests the management system 50 to log in via the communication network 2. and the current IP address of the requesting terminal are automatically transmitted. Further, when the user turns off the power switch 109 from the ON state, the transmission/reception unit 11 transmits state information indicating that the power is to be turned off to the management system 50, and then the operation input reception unit 12 completely turns off the power. do. As a result, the management system 50 side can grasp that the power of the terminal 10 has changed from on to off.

The imaging unit 14 is realized by commands from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the camera 112 and the imaging device I/F 113 shown in FIG. Output data.

The voice input unit 15a is implemented by commands from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the voice input/output I/F 116 shown in FIG. After that, audio data related to this audio signal is input. The audio output unit 15b is realized by commands from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the audio input/output I/F 116 shown in FIG. output sound from

The display control unit 16 is realized by commands from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the display I/F 117 shown in FIG. It controls transmission of this combined image data to the display 120 . Further, the display control unit 16 can transmit the information of the destination list received from the management system 50 to the display 120 and display the destination list on the display 120 .

Further, the display control unit 16 extracts the corresponding visual information by searching the visual information management table (see FIG. 10) using the operating state information received from the management system 50 by the transmitting/receiving unit 11 as a search key. The destination list is displayed on the display 120 of the terminal 10 .

The activation unit 17 determines whether the transmission/reception unit 11 has received a call start request from another dedicated terminal (or another terminal whose dedicated terminal function has been activated). Also, the activation unit 17 activates either the dedicated terminal function or the non-dedicated terminal function. Further, the activation unit 17 deactivates the activated dedicated terminal function or non-dedicated terminal function.

The destination list creating unit 18 displays the states of the destination candidates as icons as shown in FIG. Creates and updates the indicated destination list.

The storage/read processing unit 19 is executed by commands from the CPU 101 shown in FIG. 7 and the SSD 105 shown in FIG. A process of reading various data stored in the unit 1000 is performed. The storage unit 1000 stores a terminal ID (Identification) for identifying the terminal 10, a password, and the like. Further, the storage unit 1000 overwrites and stores image data and audio data received during a call with a destination terminal each time they are received. Among them, an image is displayed on the display 120 by the image data before being overwritten, and sound is output from the speaker 115 by the audio data before being overwritten.

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

<Functional configuration of relay device>
The relay device 30 has a transmitting/receiving section 31 and a data quality changing section 32 . Each of these units is a function or function realized by any of the components shown in FIG. It is a means.

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

The transmission/reception unit 31 of the relay device 30 shown in FIG. 9 is implemented by commands from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 and the network I/F 209 shown in FIG. It transmits and receives various data (or information) to and from other terminals, devices, or systems. Thereby, the relay device 30 relays call data between the terminals 10 .

Furthermore, the transmitting/receiving unit 31 instructs the destination indicated by the IP address of the request source terminal among the IP addresses received by this transmitting/receiving unit 31 to start a communication session (first communication session sed1). Send session start instruction information for Further, the transmission/reception unit 31 transmits a session start signal for instructing the start of a communication session (second communication session) to the destination indicated by the IP address among the IP addresses received by the transmission/reception unit 31 . Send the instruction information and the IP address of the destination terminal.

The data quality changing unit 32 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8, and changes the image quality of the image data sent from the transmission source terminal. As a result, even if there is a delay in receiving the image data at the terminal 10 due to the coexistence of the communication network 2 or the like, the relay device 30 can reduce the image quality of the image data to be relayed to prevent the delay. It can be carried out. For example, if there is a delay in receiving image data, among the image data with three image qualities shown in FIG. take countermeasures.

<Functional configuration of management system>
The management system 50 has a transmission/reception section 51 , a terminal authentication section 52 , a state management section 53 , an extraction section 54 , a determination section 55 , a session management section 56 , a conversion section 57 and a storage/read processing section 59 . Each of these units is a function realized by any one of the components shown in FIG. It is a means. The management system 50 also has a storage unit 5000 constructed by the HD 204 shown in FIG. The storage unit 5000 stores frame data of a destination list, which will be described later, and conversion rule data used to convert the call control method.

(relay device management table)
FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing a relay device management table. A relay device management DB 5001 configured by a relay device management table as shown in FIG. 11 is constructed in the storage unit 5000 . In this relay device management table, for each relay device ID of each relay device 30, the operation status of each relay device 30, the reception date and time when the status information indicating the operation status was received by the management system 50, the IP address of the relay device 30 , and the maximum data communication speed (Mbps) in the relay device 30 are associated and managed. For example, in the relay device management table shown in FIG. 11, the relay device 30a with the relay device ID of "111a" is in the operating state of "online" and the date and time when the state information was received by the management system 50 is "2011. 13:00 on Nov. 10, 2009", the IP address of this relay device 30a is "1.2.1.2" and the maximum data communication speed of this relay device 30a is 100 Mbps. there is

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

(Terminal state management table)
FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing a terminal state management table. In the storage unit 5000, a terminal state management DB 5003 configured by a terminal state management table as shown in FIG. 13 is constructed. In this terminal status management table, for each terminal ID of each terminal 10, the destination name when each terminal 10 is the destination, the operation status of each terminal 10, and the reception date and time when the login request information (to be described later) is received by the management system 50 , and the IP address of the terminal 10 are associated and managed. For example, in the terminal status management table shown in FIG. 13, a terminal 10aa with a terminal ID of "01aa" has a terminal name of "Japan Tokyo office AA terminal" and an operating status of "online (callable)". , the date and time when the login request information was received by the management system 50 is "13:40 on November 10, 2011", and the IP address of this terminal 10aa is "1.2.1.3". It is

However, the terminal status management table manages the terminal information including the terminal ID, terminal name, operation status, reception date and time, and IP address of the non-dedicated terminal 10 (that is, the terminal having the dedicated terminal function and the terminal other than the dedicated terminal). It is not managed because it is out of scope.

(Address list management table)
FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing a destination list management table. A destination list management DB 5004 configured by a destination list management table as shown in FIG. 14 is constructed in the storage unit 5000 . In this destination list management table, all the terminal IDs of the destination terminals registered as destination terminal candidates are associated with the terminal ID of the request source terminal requesting the start of a call, and managed. For example, in the destination list management table shown in FIG. 01ab", a terminal 10ba with a terminal ID of "01ba", and a terminal 10bb with a terminal ID of "01bb". This destination terminal candidate is updated by being added or deleted in response to an addition or deletion request to the management system 50 from any request source terminal. As with the terminal status management table, the destination list management table (see FIG. 14) does not manage the terminal IDs of non-dedicated terminals because they are not managed.

(session management table)
FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing a session management table. A session management DB 5005 configured by a session management table as shown in FIG. 15 is constructed in the storage unit 5000 . In this session management table, the relay device ID of the relay device 30 used for relaying the call data (image data and voice data), the terminal ID of the request source terminal, the terminal ID of the destination terminal, and the image data received at the destination terminal. The reception delay time (ms) at the time of receiving the data and the reception date and time when the delay time information indicating the delay time is sent from the destination terminal and received by the management system 50 are associated and managed.

For example, in the session management table shown in FIG. 15, the relay device 30a (relay device ID “111a”) is connected to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) with the terminal ID “01aa” and the terminal ID “01ca”. Image data and audio data are relayed to and from the destination terminal (terminal 10ca), and the delay time of the image data at the destination terminal (terminal 10ca) at "14:00 on November 10, 2011" is It is shown to be 200 (ms). When a call is made between two terminals 10, the reception date and time of the delay time information may be managed based on the delay time information transmitted from the request source terminal instead of the destination terminal. However, when a call is made between three or more terminals 10, the reception date and time of the delay time information is managed based on the delay time information transmitted from the terminal 10 on the receiving side of the image data and voice data. .

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

The transmission/reception unit 51 is executed by commands from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 and the network I/F 209 shown in FIG. or information).

The terminal authentication unit 52 is implemented by commands from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. Terminal authentication is performed by searching the table (see FIG. 12) and determining whether the same terminal ID and password are managed in this terminal authentication management table.

The state management unit 53 is implemented by commands from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8, and stores the request source terminal in the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13) in order to manage the operation state of the request source terminal that has requested login. The terminal ID of the terminal, the operation status of the requesting terminal, the date and time when the login request information was received by the management system 50, and the IP address of the requesting terminal are stored and managed in association with each other. In addition, the state management unit 53 changes the state of the terminal 10 based on the state information sent from the terminal 10 indicating that the power is to be turned off when the user turns the power switch 109 of the terminal 10 from on to off. The operating status indicating online in the management table (see FIG. 13) is changed to offline.

The extraction unit 54 is implemented by commands from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. Extract as search results.

For example, the extracting unit 54 searches the destination list management table (see FIG. 14) using the terminal ID of the request source terminal that requested the login as a key, and finds the terminal IDs of candidate destination terminals that can communicate with the request source terminal. Extract. The extraction unit 54 also searches the terminal status table (see FIG. 13) using the terminal ID of the destination terminal candidate as a search key, and extracts the operating status for each terminal ID. As a result, the extracting unit 54 can acquire the operation status of the destination terminal candidates that can communicate with the request source terminal that has made the login request.

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

Furthermore, the extraction unit 54 extracts the IP address of the corresponding terminal 10 by searching the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13) using the terminal ID of the terminal 10 received by the transmission/reception unit 51 as a search key. The extraction unit 54 also extracts the corresponding terminal ID by searching the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13) using the IP address of the destination terminal as a search key.

Subsequently, the determination unit 55 is realized by a command from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 and determines whether or not the operating state indicated by the operating state information is "online". Furthermore, if the determination unit 55 determines that it is “online”, it determines that the operating state information can be transmitted to the predetermined terminal 10 , and if it determines that it is not “online”, it determines that the predetermined terminal 10, it is determined that the operation state information cannot be transmitted.

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

When the operating state corresponding to the terminal ID of the requesting terminal in the terminal state management table indicates that the non-dedicated terminal function is activated, the conversion unit 57 converts the call according to the conversion rule data stored in the storage unit 5000 in advance. and interconverts between the call control scheme sent by the requesting terminal and the call control scheme sent by the destination terminal.

The storage/read processing unit 59 is executed by the instructions from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 8 and the HDD 205 shown in FIG. process to read out various data.

<<Processing or operation of the embodiment>>
Next, a case where the terminal 10 having the dedicated terminal function and the non-dedicated terminal function is the request source terminal will be described using FIGS. 6, 9, and 16 to 20. FIG. Note that FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing a call start request.

As shown in FIG. 16, first, when the user of the dual codec-compatible requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) turns on the power switch 109 shown in FIG. The operation input reception unit 12 receives the power-on and turns on the power (step S21). Triggered by the acceptance of the power-on, the login requesting unit 13 automatically transmits login request information indicating a login request from the transmitting/receiving unit 11 to the management system 50 via the communication network 2 (step S22). This login request information includes a terminal ID for identifying the terminal lOaa, which is the requesting terminal, and a password. These terminal ID and password are data read out from the storage unit 1000 via the storage/readout processing unit 19 and sent to the transmission/reception unit 11 . When the login request information is transmitted from the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) to the management system 50, the management system 50 on the receiving side can grasp the IP address of the terminal 10aa on the transmitting side.

Next, the terminal authentication unit 52 of the management system 50 searches the terminal authentication management table (see FIG. 12) using the terminal ID and password included in the login request information received via the transmission/reception unit 51 as search keys. Terminal authentication is performed by determining whether the same terminal ID and the same password are managed in this terminal authentication management table (step S23). Since the same terminal ID and the same password are managed by this terminal authentication unit 52, when it is determined that the login request is from the terminal 10 having valid use authority, the state management unit 53 In the terminal status management table (see FIG. 13), for each record indicated by the terminal ID and destination name of the terminal 10aa, the operating status, the date and time when the login request information was received, and the IP address of the terminal 10aa are associated and stored. (step S24). As a result, in the terminal status management table, the terminal ID "01aa", the destination name, the operation status "online", the reception date and time "2011.11.10.13:40", and the terminal IP address "1.2.1. 3” will be associated and managed.

Then, the transmitting/receiving unit 51 of the management system 50 transmits the authentication result information indicating the authentication result obtained by the terminal authentication unit 52 to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) requesting the login via the communication network 2. (step S25). In the present embodiment, the case where the terminal authentication unit 52 determines that the terminal has a legitimate usage right will be described below.

The extraction unit 54 of the management system 50 searches the destination list management table (see FIG. 14) based on the terminal ID "01aa" of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that has made the login request, thereby extracting the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). 10aa), and extracts the terminal IDs of the other requesting terminals that have registered the terminal ID "01aa" of 10aa) as a destination terminal candidate (step S26). Here, for simplification of explanation, the case where the terminal ID extracted in step S26 is the terminal ID "01ba" of the terminal 10ba will be explained below.

Next, the extraction unit 54 of the management system 50 searches the terminal state management table (see FIG. 13) using the terminal ID "01aa" of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that has sent the login request as a search key, The operating state of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login is extracted (step S27).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 51 transmits to the terminal 10ba the terminal ID "01aa" of the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) and the operating state information indicating the operating state of the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa). "Terminal status information" is transmitted (step S28). Thereby, the transmitting/receiving unit of the terminal lOca receives the state information of the terminal. Therefore, in the terminal 10ba, a destination list reflecting the latest operating state of the terminal 10aa is created and displayed on the display 120ba in the same manner as in the process of step S28, which will be described later.

On the other hand, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) selects either the dedicated terminal function or the non-dedicated terminal function (step S29). Here, with reference to FIG. 17, the function selection process will be described in more detail. Note that FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing the process of selecting the dedicated terminal function or the non-dedicated terminal function.

First, the display control unit 16 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) displays the function selection screen 900 on the display 120aa as shown in FIG. 18 (step S29-1). Note that FIG. 18 is a conceptual diagram showing the call function selection screen. As shown in FIG. 18, a function selection screen 900 includes a function selection icon 910 (an example of a first icon) for activating dedicated terminal functions, and a function selection icon 910 for activating non-dedicated terminal functions. An icon 920 (an example of a second icon) is displayed in parallel. An end icon 990 for ending the function selection process is displayed on the lower right side of the function selection screen 900 .

Next, the operation input reception unit 12 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) determines whether the user has selected either the function selection icon 910 or the function selection icon 920 shown in FIG. 18 (step S29-2). If it is determined by this step S29-2 that none of the icons has been selected, the transmitting/receiving unit 11 further causes another dedicated terminal (or another terminal whose dedicated terminal function is activated) to It is determined whether or not a call start request has been received (step S29-3). If it is determined in step S29-3 that the call start request has not been received (NO), the process returns to step S29-1. On the other hand, if it is determined at step S29-3 that the call start request has been accepted (YES), the activation unit 17 activates the dedicated terminal function (step S29-4). As a result, the terminal lOaa can start a call as a dedicated terminal.

Further, when it is determined in step S29-2 that either the function selection icon 910 or the function selection icon 920 has been selected, the operation input reception unit 12 further activates the dedicated terminal function. It is determined whether or not the selection icon 910 has been selected (step S29-5). If it is determined in step S29-5 that the function selection icon 910 has been selected, the activation unit 17 activates the dedicated terminal function (step S29-6). In this case, the terminal 10aa can start a call as a dedicated terminal through steps S41 to S49, which will be described later.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S29-5 that the function selection icon 910 was not selected (the function selection icon 920 was selected), the transmitting/receiving unit 11 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) The terminal status information indicating that the non-dedicated terminal function is activated is transmitted to the system 50 (step S29-7). By this transmission, the management system 50 updates the operation status of the terminal ID corresponding to the terminal 10aa in the terminal status management table to indicate that the non-dedicated terminal function is activated. Also, the activation unit 17 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) activates the non-dedicated terminal function (step S29-8). However, when the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) operates as a non-dedicated terminal, the destination list shown in FIG. 20, which will be described later, is not displayed. address information (for example, IP address) that can identify the location of the device must be entered. Therefore, when the user inputs, for example, the IP address of the destination terminal (non-dedicated terminal), the operation input receiving unit 12 receives designation of the destination (step S29-9). As a result, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) can start a call as a non-dedicated terminal.

Specifically, the requesting terminal transmits a call start request addressed to the input IP address to the management system 50, and the management system 50 confirms that the operation status of the terminal ID of the requesting terminal in the terminal status management table is: Since it indicates that the non-dedicated terminal function is being activated, the conversion unit 57 converts the received call start request into data according to the conversion data rule (that is, according to the call control method of the non-dedicated terminal). . The converted call initiation request is sent to the destination terminal (non-dedicated terminal) based on the IP address received from the management system 50 . The destination terminal (non-dedicated terminal) that has received the call start request responds to the management system 50 if the call is possible, and the management system 50 converts it according to the conversion data rules in the same way as the call start request. forwards the response to the requesting terminal. Through these series of call control processes, a communication session sed can be established between the request source terminal and the destination terminal as shown in FIG. In the case of FIG. 4, since the request source terminal is activating the non-dedicated terminal function, the same AVC encoding method as that of the destination terminal (non-dedicated terminal) is used as the encoding method.

In step S29-9, the user was prompted to enter the IP address, but the location information such as the IP address of the non-dedicated terminal may be stored in the terminal 10 in advance so that the user can select one of them. may

19 and 20, the processing from step S29-6 shown in FIG. 17 to the start of a call will be described. Note that FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the process of displaying the destination list. Also, FIG. 20 is a conceptual diagram showing a destination list.

First, when the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the authentication result information indicating the result of the determination that the terminal has valid usage rights in step S25, the transmitting/receiving unit 11 transmits the Then, the destination list request information indicating that the destination list is requested is transmitted to the management system 50 (step S41). Thereby, the transmission/reception unit 51 of the management system 50 receives the destination list request information.

Next, the extraction unit 54 of the management system 50 searches the destination list management table (see FIG. 14) using the terminal ID "01aa" of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) that requested the login as a search key. The terminal ID of a destination terminal candidate that can communicate with the terminal 10aa) is extracted, and the terminal status management table (see FIG. 13) is searched using this terminal ID as a search key to extract the corresponding destination name information. (Step S42). Here, for the sake of simplification of explanation, a case where terminal IDs such as terminal 10ab, terminal 10ba, terminal 10ca, and terminal 10cb as dedicated terminal A are extracted as destination terminal candidate terminals 10 will be explained below. do.

Next, the extraction unit 54 reads the data of the destination list frame from the storage unit 5000 (step S43). Then, the transmitting/receiving unit 51 sends the “destination list information (destination list frame, terminal ID, destination name)” including the destination list frame and the terminal ID and destination name information extracted in step S42 to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) (step S44). As a result, the transmission/reception unit 11 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the destination list information.

Next, the storage/read processing unit 19 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) stores the destination list information in the storage unit 1000 (step S45).

As described above, in this embodiment, the management system 50 centrally manages the destination list information of all the terminals instead of managing the destination list information in each terminal 10 . Therefore, a new terminal 10 is used in the call system 1, a new terminal 10 is included in place of the already used terminal 10, or the appearance of the destination list frame is changed. Even if this happens, the management system 50 handles it collectively, so it is possible to save the trouble of changing the destination list information on each terminal 10 side.

Further, on the management system 50 side, the extracting unit 54 extracts the operating state of the terminal 10 that is a candidate for the destination terminal (step S46).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 51 retrieves the terminal ID "01ca" as the search key used in step S42 and the operating state "online (callable)" of the corresponding destination terminal (terminal 10ca). terminal state information" is transmitted to the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) via the communication network 2 (step S47). The transmitting/receiving unit 51 may transmit to the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) the terminal ID of the requesting terminal (terminal 10aa) itself and the "terminal state information" indicating the operating state.

Next, the storage/read processing unit 19 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) sequentially stores the terminal state information received from the management system 50 in the storage unit 1000 (step S48). Therefore, the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) receives the status information of each terminal, thereby obtaining the current operating status of the other terminals 10 that can communicate with the request source terminal (terminal 10aa). can.

Next, the destination list creation unit 18 of the request source terminal (terminal 10aa) reflects the state of the terminal 10 as a destination candidate based on the destination list information stored in the storage unit 1000 and the state information of the terminal. 20 on the display 120aa shown in FIG. 1 (step S49). In order to reflect the state of the terminal 10 in the destination list, the following processing is performed. That is, the destination list creation unit 18 extracts the corresponding visual information by searching the visual information management table (see FIG. 10) based on the operating state information of the terminal included in the state information of the terminal. Then, the destination list creating unit 18 assigns the extracted visual information to the destination list frame in the destination list information for each terminal ID and destination name in the destination list information. In FIG. 20, the operating states of four destination candidates (2110, 2120, 2130, 2140) are represented by icons as an example of visual information. This allows the user to recognize the operational status of the destination candidate before starting a call.

A return icon 2300 (an example of a third icon) for returning to the function selection screen 900 shown in FIG. 18 is displayed below the destination list 2100 . A scroll bar 2200 is displayed on the right side of the destination list 2100. When the user moves the scroll bar 2200 up and down, the visual information displayed in the destination list moves up and down. .

<<main effects of the present embodiment>>
As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to selectively use a plurality of types of call functions using communication schemes having the same call control scheme but different encoding schemes.

<<Supplement to the embodiment>>
In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 18, selection of two types of functions has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more types of functions may be selected.

Further, in the above embodiment, the icons displayed on the display 120 by the teleconference terminal as an example of the call terminal have been described in FIGS. 18 and 20. However, as shown in FIGS. A terminal 10' such as a smartphone may display various icons on the display 120'. FIG. 21 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of the function selection screen. Also, FIG. 22 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of the destination list. 21 and 22, the terminal 10', the operation button 108', the microphone 114', the speaker 115', the display 120', the function selection icon 910', and the function selection icon 920' are the terminal 10' in the video conference terminal. , operation button 108 , microphone 114 , speaker 115 , display 120 , function selection icon 910 , and function selection icon 920 .

Further, in FIG. 22, a destination list 2100', destination candidates (2110', 2120', 2130', 2140'), a scroll bar 2200', and a return icon 2300' are displayed in the teleconference terminal, respectively. ( 2110 , 2120 , 2130 , 2140 ), scroll bar 2200 , and back icon 2300 .

In addition, the various icons shown in FIGS. 10, 18, and 20 may be pictographic symbols including characters and symbols.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, transmission and reception of image data and audio data have been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Only voice data may be transmitted and received. In this case, the merits of the videophone cannot be utilized, but a conference can be held only by telephone calls, as in the case of ordinary telephone calls.

Further, the relay device 30, the management system 50, the program providing system 90, and the maintenance system 100 in the above embodiments may be constructed by a single computer, or each part (function or means) may be divided and arbitrarily assigned. It may be constructed by a plurality of computers connected to each other. Further, when the program providing system 90 is constructed by a single computer, the program transmitted by the program providing system 90 may or may not be divided into a plurality of modules and transmitted. It may be sent. Furthermore, when the program providing system 90 is constructed by a plurality of computers, the plurality of modules may be divided and transmitted from each computer.

In addition, recording media such as CD-ROMs in which the programs of the above embodiments are stored, the HD 204 in which these programs are stored, and the program providing system 90 equipped with this HD 204 are all program products. can be provided domestically or internationally as

In addition, in FIGS. 11, 13, and 15, the reception date and time are managed, but the present invention is not limited to this, and at least the reception time of the reception date and time may be managed.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the IP address of the relay device is managed in FIG. 11 and the IP address of the terminal is managed in FIG. or destination information for specifying the terminal 10 on the communication network 2, each FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) may be managed. In this case, the IP address corresponding to the FQDN is obtained by a well-known DNS (Domain Name System) server.

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

Further, in the above embodiment, image data and voice data have been described as examples of call data, but the present invention is not limited to this, and touch data may be used. In this case, the sensation of the user touching one terminal is transmitted to the other terminal. Further, the call data may be smell data. In this case, the smell (smell) on one terminal side is transmitted to the other terminal side. Also, the call data may be at least one of image data, audio data, tactile data, and olfactory data.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case of having a teleconference using the call system 1 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. May be used for presentation.

Also, the external view of the call terminal of the terminal shown in FIG. 6 is merely an example, and the terminal may be a smart phone, a tablet terminal, a mobile phone, or a general-purpose PC. The microphone and camera do not necessarily have to be built in, and may be external.

2 and 4, the call control method of the request source terminal is the protocol of instant messenger (or a protocol extended from the instant messenger protocol), and the call control method of the destination terminal is SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) in FIG. Protocol) or H.323, but this is only an example, and other call control methods than the above-described ones may be used.

1 call system 10 call terminal 11 transmission/reception unit (an example of transmission means, an example of reception means)
12 operation input receiving unit (an example of receiving means)
16 display control unit (an example of display control means)
17 starting unit (an example of starting means)
18 destination list creation unit 30 relay device 50 call management system 90 program providing system 100 maintenance system 910 function selection icon (an example of the first icon)
920 function selection icon (an example of a second icon)
1000 storage unit 1001 visual information management DB (an example of visual information management means)
2300 Back icon (an example of a third icon)
5000 storage unit (an example of storage means)
5001 Relay device management DB
5002 Terminal authentication management DB
5003 Terminal state management DB
5004 Destination list management DB
5005 Session management DB

JP 2008-227577 A JP-A-2001-326972

Claims (15)

receiving means for receiving information on the destination from a management system that manages the destination;
Displaying a function selection screen for selecting two or more call functions including a first call function and a second call function having the same call control method and different encoding methods for encoding video data. display control means;
operation input reception means for determining whether one of the first call function and the second call function is selected on the function selection screen;
When it is determined that the first call function is selected, the first call function is activated, and when it is determined that the second call function is selected, the second call function is activated. an activation means for causing
has
When the activation means activates the first call function, a call is started to the destination selected from the received destination information, and the activation means activates the second call function. When activated, starting a call to a destination specified by a destination specifying method different from when the first call function is activated ;
A call terminal characterized by: If a call start request using the first call function is received from another call terminal having the first call function before the selection is accepted by the operation input accepting means 2. The call terminal according to claim 1, wherein said activation means activates said first call function. Transmission for transmitting operating state information indicating that the second call function is being activated to the management system when the operation input accepting means determines that the second call function has been selected 3. A call terminal according to claim 1, further comprising means. The display control means causes a predetermined display means to display a destination list indicating the operation status of destination candidates, and displays an icon on the destination list for causing the display means to display the function selection screen. display,
The operation input reception means receives selection of the icon,
4. The call terminal according to claim 1, wherein when the selection of the icon is accepted, the display control means causes the display means to display the function selection screen. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of said first call function and said second call function transmits call data including said video data and audio data to said destination. Call terminal as described. The display control means causes an icon capable of accepting display of the function selection screen to be displayed on the selection screen for selecting a destination candidate as a communication destination of the video data displayed on the display means,
5. The call terminal according to claim 4 , wherein, when the selection of the icon is accepted by the operation input acceptance means, the display control means causes the display means to display the function selection screen. The video coding method of the first call function is the first video coding method specified by H.264/SVC, and the video coding method of the second call function is H.264/SVC. 7. The call terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it is a second video coding system defined by .264/AVC. When the first call function is activated by the activation means, the video data encoded using the encoding method of the first video is transmitted to the destination via the relay device, and the activation is performed. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein when said second call function is activated by said means, said video data encoded using said second video encoding method is directly transmitted to said destination. Call terminal as described. 9. The session for transmitting and receiving the video data is established using the same call control method for both the first call function and the second call function. Call terminal as described in paragraph. The first call function is realized by a first communication application possessed by the call terminal, and the second call function is realized by a second communication application different from the first communication application possessed by the call terminal. 10. The call terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The call terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the call terminal is a teleconference terminal. A method of specifying a destination different from when the first call function is activated is a method of accepting specification of a destination by a user of the call terminal inputting address information of the destination terminal. The call terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 11. a receiving step of receiving information on the destination from a management system that manages the destination;
Displaying a function selection screen for selecting two or more call functions including a first call function and a second call function having the same call control method and different encoding methods for encoding video data. a display control step;
an operation input reception step of determining whether one of the first call function and the second call function is selected on the function selection screen;
When it is determined that the first call function is selected, the first call function is activated, and when it is determined that the second call function is selected, the second call function is activated. a start-up step that causes
has
When the first call function is activated by the activation step, a call is started to the destination selected from the received destination information, and the second call function is activated by the activation step. A call function activating method, characterized in that, when activated, a process of starting a call to a destination designated by a destination designation method different from that used when the first call function is activated is executed. to the computer,
a receiving step of receiving information on the destination from a management system that manages the destination;
Displaying a function selection screen for selecting two or more call functions including a first call function and a second call function having the same call control method and different encoding methods for encoding video data. a display control step;
an operation input reception step of determining whether one of the first call function and the second call function is selected on the function selection screen;
When it is determined that the first call function is selected, the first call function is activated, and when it is determined that the second call function is selected, the second call function is activated. a start-up step that causes
has
When the first call function is activated by the activation step, a call is started to the destination selected from the received destination information, and the second call function is activated by the activation step. A program that, when activated, executes a process of starting a call to a destination designated by a destination designation method different from that used when the first call function is activated. A communication system in which a call terminal and a management system for managing destinations can be connected via a network,
The management system is
a transmitting means for transmitting the destination information to the call terminal;
The call terminal is
receiving means for receiving the destination information;
Displaying a function selection screen for selecting two or more call functions including a first call function and a second call function having the same call control method and different encoding methods for encoding video data. display control means;
operation input reception means for determining whether one of the first call function and the second call function is selected on the function selection screen;
When it is determined that the first call function is selected, the first call function is activated, and when it is determined that the second call function is selected, the second call function is activated. and an activation means for causing
The call terminal further
When the first call function is activated by the activation means, a call is started to the destination selected from the received destination information, and the second call function is activated and starting a call to a destination specified by a destination specifying method different from that when the first call function is activated by the activation means .
A communication system characterized by:

Images