JPH06334650A - Inter-multi-spots communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the load on the side of a terminal by starting the inter-multi-spots communication by the request of a control terminal by setting all the logical communication paths between terminals for which a mesh connection is performed by the side of a communication network and terminating the inter-multi-spots communication by disconnecting all the communication paths when the communication termination instruction of the control terminal is detected. CONSTITUTION:When the reception unit 130 of a communication network 100 receives the request of an inter-multi-spots communication from a control terminal 105, the unit 3 sets the numbers of terminal 1 to 4 are returns the reception completion to the terminal 105. Next, the exchanging device of the network 100 starts a path setting unit 131, sets a meshy communication path between the terminals for which the inter- multi-spots communication is requested and enables the communication. Afterwards, a monitoring unit 132 monitors the instruction of the inter-multi-spots communication termination from the terminal 105, starts a path disconnection unit 133 when the unit 132 detects the instruction and terminates the communication by disconnecting all the communication paths. Thus, the load of the side of the terminal can be reduced and the operation of a user can be simplified by automatically setting or disconnecting the communication paths by the side of the network 100.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multipoint communication system in a case where a groupware service such as a multipoint communication conference or a multipoint cooperative writing work is performed by a plurality of terminals via a communication network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when three or more terminals are connected to each other in a mesh form via a communication network to perform multipoint communication, each communication path forming a mesh is connected to one of the communication paths. A method of setting each one by booting from a terminal has been used.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a conventional multipoint communication system by taking an example of multipoint communication using four terminals. Reference numerals 401 to 404 denote terminals 1, 2, 3, 4, and 405 that perform multipoint communication, a communication network including switching devices, 406 a communication line, and 407 a logical communication path that performs communication between terminals. Is. First, the terminal 1 calls each of the terminals 2, 3, and 4, and the communication path 12,
Set 13 and 14. After this, the terminal 2 calls the terminals 3 and 4, respectively, and sets communication paths 23 and 24 with them. Further, the terminal 3 calls the terminal 4 and sets the communication path 34. In this way, a total of ₄ C ₂ = 4 × 3/2 =
The terminals 1, 2, 3, and 4 were connected in a mesh by six communication paths.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional method, when performing multipoint communication by a mesh connection method, a switching device that constitutes a communication network from terminals that perform the multipoint communication for each communication path. It was necessary to call the etc. to request the communication path setting. In the example of FIG. 6, a total of six calls (communication path setting request) from the terminal to the communication network are required to perform multipoint communication between four points. Moreover, since the terminals requesting the setting of the communication path are different like the terminals 1, 2, and 3, if they are not in the same place such as in a distant distributed place, in order to realize the multipoint communication. , It was necessary to establish the timing of calling (synchronization) such as contacting each other in advance. This is because the communication network side does not have a function for performing mesh-shaped multipoint communication.

An object of the present invention is to solve such problems and provide a connection / management / control function of a mesh communication path on the communication network side when performing multipoint communication between a plurality of terminals, It is an object of the present invention to provide a multipoint communication system capable of realizing a communication network capable of significantly reducing the load on the terminal side and simultaneously providing a new service related to multipoint communication.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a multipoint communication system of the present invention provides a multipoint communication from a control terminal to a communication network and a terminal which performs the multipoint communication. Receiving means for detecting this when instructed,
Path setting means for setting a mesh-like logical communication path between the respective terminals instructed by the control terminal in order to start the multipoint communication detected using the reception means; Multipoint communication management means for storing and managing interpoint communication information, monitoring means for detecting when the control terminal gives an instruction to terminate the multipoint communication, and the monitoring means for interpoint communication It is characterized in that a path disconnecting means is provided for disconnecting all of the communication paths for performing the multipoint communication when the communication end instruction is detected.

[0007]

According to the present invention, when a request for multipoint communication is received from a control terminal in a communication network, all logical communication paths between terminals connected to a mesh are set on the communication network side to perform multipoint communication. At the same time as starting, when there is an instruction to end the multipoint communication, this is detected on the communication network side, and all the communication paths constituting the mesh connection are disconnected, and the multipoint communication is ended. . As a result, the user simply instructs the communication network to perform multipoint communication from the control terminal and the terminal number for performing the multipoint communication, and the mesh connection for configuring the multipoint communication is automatically performed. Done and also
When terminating the multipoint communication, it is only necessary to perform the communication termination operation on the control terminal, so that the load on the terminal side when performing the multipoint communication can be significantly reduced, and the operation of the user can be simplified. .

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a multipoint communication system showing an embodiment of the present invention, and exemplifies a case where multipoint communication between four points of terminals 1 to 4 is performed.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 is a communication network including switching devices, 105 is a control terminal for requesting multipoint communication to the communication network 100, and 101, 102, 103 and 104 are terminals 1 for multipoint communication, respectively. 2, 3, 4 and 1
11, 112, 113, 114, and 115 are physical communication lines connecting the respective terminals to the switching device, and 130 is a control terminal instructed to perform multipoint communication and a terminal to perform the multipoint communication. In this case, a receiving unit that detects this, 131 is a path setting unit that sets a mesh-like logical communication path between the respective terminals instructed by the control terminal, and 132 is the end of multipoint communication from the control terminal. A monitoring unit 133 that detects this when an instruction to do so is a path disconnecting unit that disconnects all communication paths that are performing the multipoint communication. Further, the communication path set in a mesh shape between the terminals via the communication network is the same as in the case of FIG. Only logical communication paths 122 (communication path 12), 123
(Communication path 13) and 124 (communication path 14), and others are omitted.

FIG. 2A shows an example of the configuration of the multipoint communication management table 150 for managing the multipoint communication in the switching device of the communication network. Reference numeral 151 denotes the control terminal which has requested the multipoint communication. A control terminal number field for setting a number (the number of the control terminal 105 in this embodiment), and 153 is a terminal number field for setting the number of terminals performing multipoint communication (“4” in this embodiment).

FIG. 2B shows a terminal management table 20 which manages terminals for which multipoint communication has been requested by the control terminal 105.
0 shows a configuration example of 0, and 201 to 204 are fields for setting a terminal number for performing multipoint communication, and in the case of the present embodiment, the numbers of the terminal 1 to the terminal 4 are respectively set. .

FIG. 2C shows an example of the structure of the communication path management table 300 for managing the communication paths for performing multipoint communication, and shows 312, 313, 314, 323, and 3.
24 and 334 are communication path identification fields, and in the case of this embodiment, the communication paths 12, 13, 14, and 2, respectively.
The identification numbers 3, 24 and 34 are set.

In addition, in the exchange device, as shown in FIG.
The management tables of (b) and (c) of FIG. 2 are held in association with each other so that they can be referred to each other, and when the above-mentioned units in the exchange operate, the management tables of (a) and (2) of FIG. b), if it is necessary to refer to the management table of FIG. 2C, it is possible to specify the necessary reading of the table when the unit is activated.

First, the control terminal 105 requests a specific service such as a "special number dial" for requesting a service to start a predetermined multipoint communication (here, "multipoint communication start service"). Service code (here, "1X
₁ Y ₁ ″) and the number of the terminal for multipoint communication are dialed by a predetermined method together with, for example, a delimiter code and an end code. Specifically, for example, terminal 1 to terminal 4
In the case of four point-to-point communication,
Input as X ₁ Y ₁ * Terminal 1 number * Terminal 2 number * Terminal 3 number * Terminal 4 number #. Here, * is a delimiter code and # is an end code. At this time, the exchange apparatus activates the reception unit 130 when a call is made from the terminal.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of the reception unit 130 of FIG. The reception unit 130 first checks whether the number of the control terminal 105, which is the calling terminal, is in the list of numbers managed by the exchange (step 81). Then, it is checked whether or not the dial is "1X ₁ Y ₁ " indicating the multipoint communication start service (step 82). If the dial is "1X ₁ Y _1, " it is determined that the communication is a request for multipoint communication, and the terminal number for multipoint communication is extracted from the delimiter code and end code of the dial that follows. It is checked whether the numbers are listed in the numbers managed by the exchanges (step 83). Specifically, the numbers of the terminals 1 to 4 are extracted and checked. After that, the control terminal number (the number of the control terminal 105), the number of terminals performing multipoint communication, etc. are stored in the multipoint communication management table 150 as shown in FIG.
Further, the terminal numbers (numbers of terminals 1 to 4) are set in the terminal management table 200 (step 84). The first dial is not the 1X ₁ Y _1, and ends the process.

Upon receiving a request for multipoint communication from the control terminal 105, the exchange returns a reception completion notification to the control terminal 105.

On the other hand, when the receiving unit 130 normally receives the multipoint communication request, the switching device activates the path setting unit 131 to set a mesh communication path between the terminals requested for the multipoint communication. To do.

First, the path setting unit 131 checks the number-of-terminals field 153 of the multipoint communication management table 150 and confirms the number of terminals (4 in this embodiment) that perform multipoint communication. The contents of the terminal number field of the terminal management table 200 (in this embodiment, the numbers of the terminals 1 to 4 of the terminal number fields 201 to 204) are read out and the communication path is set between the respective terminals. For example, terminal 1
In order to set a communication path between the switching device and the terminal 2, the switching device calls the terminals 1 and 2 at the same time, and when both terminals respond by off-hook or the like, the communication path between the switching device and the terminal 1 or the switching device and the terminal 2 As shown in FIG. 1, the communication path 1 is connected between the terminals 1 and 2 by connecting the communication path 2
Set 22. At this time, the communication path management table 300
In the communication path identification field of, the identification number that can be identified and identified by the exchange device with respect to the communication path 122 is given and written. Similarly, the path setting unit 131 sets a communication path between the terminals, and consequently sets a mesh communication path between the terminals, thereby enabling multipoint communication between the terminals.

When the path setting unit 131 normally completes the setting of the mesh-like communication path between the terminals, the exchange device makes a new incoming call from the terminal when the control terminal 105 redials the monitoring unit 132. When it is accepted, it is activated and the control terminal 105 monitors whether or not an instruction to terminate the multipoint communication is issued.

The following three methods can be considered as a method of monitoring by the monitoring unit 132. Which method is used depends on what is to be done with the communication network side when terminating multipoint communication in advance.

First, as a first method, the control terminal 1
When a request for multipoint communication from 05 is accepted, the communication path with the control terminal 105 is reserved, and when the multipoint communication is terminated, the communication path is disconnected and the monitoring unit This is a method of detecting termination of multipoint communication by detecting 132.

The second method is the control terminal 105.
When a request for multipoint communication is received from the communication terminal, the communication path with the control terminal 105 is reserved, and when ending the multipoint communication, by redialing a predetermined special number dial or the like. This is a method of instructing the communication network to end the multipoint communication, and detecting this by the monitoring unit 132 to detect the end of the multipoint communication.

A third method is the control terminal 105.
When the multipoint communication request is received from the control terminal 105, the control terminal 105 temporarily disconnects the communication path with the switching device, and when the multipoint communication is desired to be terminated, the control terminal 105 calls again and the multipoint is called. This is a method of detecting that the monitoring unit 132 detects the end of the multipoint communication when the communication network is instructed to end the interpoint communication.

The timing of activating the monitoring unit 132 in the exchange is the first and second methods when the control terminal 105 redials, and the third method when a new incoming call is accepted from the terminal. To

The third method will be described in detail below.

First, when the control terminal 105 requests the multipoint communication service from the communication network 100 to start multipoint communication, the control terminal 105 disconnects the communication path with the exchange. After that, when the user wants to end the multipoint communication, the control terminal 105 that has requested the multipoint communication.
A specific service code such as a "special number dial" (here, "1X ₂ ") that requests a predetermined service for terminating multipoint communication (herein referred to as "multipoint communication termination service"). Y ₂ "). Specifically, the input is made as 1X ₂ Y ₂ #. Here, # is an end code. At this time, in the exchange, when the terminal makes a call, the monitoring unit 132 is activated.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the monitoring unit 132 of FIG. The monitoring unit 132 first checks whether or not the number of the control terminal 105, which is the calling terminal, is in the list of numbers managed by the exchange (step 91). Then, it is checked whether or not the calling terminal has previously requested the multipoint communication service (step 92). This can be done by checking whether the terminal number of the calling terminal is registered in the control terminal number field 151 of the multipoint communication management table 150 of FIG. 2 (a). If the calling terminal is not the terminal requesting the multipoint communication service, the processing is terminated. If the originating terminal if the terminal that requested the multipoint communication service, dial indicates the multipoint communication end service "1X ₂ Y _2" whether examined (step 93). The dial is not the 1X ₂ Y _2, and ends the process. If the dial is “1X ₂ Y ₂ ”, it is determined that the communication is a request to end the multipoint communication, and the path disconnection unit 133 is determined.
Is requested (step 94).

The monitoring unit 1 receives a request for termination of multipoint communication.
When the switching device activates the path disconnection unit 133, the path disconnection unit 133 examines all the communication paths involved in the multipoint communication, and disconnects the communication paths that have not been disconnected yet.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation of the path cutting unit 133 shown in FIG. Path cutting unit 13
3 reads out the communication path identification number registered in the communication path identification field of the communication path management table 300 (step 96), and in order for each of the communication paths identified by the read communication path identification number, the status Is checked to see if it is disconnected (step 97). If the communication path is not disconnected, disconnection processing is executed (step 98). If disconnected, the disconnection process is skipped. When all the communication paths registered in the communication path management table 300 have been checked, the process ends (step 99).

When the multipoint communication is completed, the exchange device
The management information related to the multipoint communication is deleted from the multipoint communication management table 150, the terminal management table 200, and the communication path management table 300.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, if a request for starting multipoint communication is given from a control terminal, a mesh communication path is automatically generated between terminals performing multipoint communication on the communication network side. If the user requests the end of multipoint communication from the control terminal to end the multipoint communication, the communication network side automatically disconnects all communication paths and the multipoint Intercommunication can be terminated. Therefore, the load on the terminal side when performing multipoint communication can be significantly reduced, and the operation of the user can be simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural explanatory view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural explanatory view showing an example of a multipoint communication management table, a terminal management table, and a communication path management table according to the present invention.

3 is an operation flowchart of the reception unit of FIG.

4 is an operation flowchart of the monitoring unit of FIG.

5 is an operation flowchart of the path cutting unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a conventional multipoint communication system.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 ... Communication network, 101, 102, 103, 104 ... Terminal, 10
5 ... Control terminal, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 ... Communication line, 122, 123, 124 ... Communication path, 130 ... Reception unit, 131 ... Path setting unit, 132 ... Monitoring unit, 133 ... Path disconnecting unit, 150 ... multipoint communication management table, 151 ... control terminal number field, 153 ... terminal number field, 200 ... terminal management table, 201, 202, 203, 204 ... terminal number field, 300 ... communication path management table, 312, 313, 314, 323, 324, 334 ...
Communication path identification field, 401, 402, 403, 404 ... Terminal, 405 ... Communication network, 406 ... Communication line, 407 ... Communication path.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A multipoint communication method for multipoint communication in which a plurality of terminals are simultaneously connected to each other in a mesh shape by a logical communication path via a communication network to perform multipoint communication. In addition, the control terminal performs multipoint communication and accepting means for detecting the multipoint communication when instructed to perform the multipoint communication, and the multipoint communication detected using the accepting means is started. In order to do so, a path setting means for setting a mesh-like logical communication path between the respective terminals instructed by the control terminal, and a multipoint communication management means for storing and managing the multipoint communication information. A monitoring means for detecting an instruction to terminate the multipoint communication from the control terminal; and a multipoint communication if the monitoring means detects an instruction to terminate the multipoint communication. Communication Multipoint communication scheme characterized by having a path cutting means for cutting all.